Ghana winger Andre Ayew has hailed Stephen Appiah as the ‘best ever’ following the announcement of the ex-Black Stars captain’s retirement from football.

Appiah, 33, finally confirmed he is retiring from the game after two years of inactivity.

The former Juventus midfielder retires from football having achieved his wildest dreams as a boy – to play in Europe and captain the Black Stars.

Ayew has saluted Stephen Appiah for his enormous contribution to the game of football and most importantly for his selfless dedication and service to the Ghana national team having made 67 appearances for the Black Stars and scored 14 goals.

“I want to say a big thank you to Stephen Appiah for exciting millions with his football talent,” the Olympique Marseille man told GHANAsoccernet.com.

“He played for both club and country with total dedication and proved to a lot of us that hard work really pays. He is the best ever.

“He captained the national team with distinction and I don’t think there are enough words to describe someone like him.

“He is a true legend of the game of football and I am only glad I had the opportunity to play with him.”

Appiah started his professional career with Ghanaian giants Hearts of Oak in 1995 to begin what was to be a fairly long, successful club career which spanned a 17-year period.

He later moved on to Italy, where he played for Udinese, Parma and Brescia before eventually joining and winning the Serie-A with Juventus.

Appiah enjoyed similar domestic success when he moved to Fenerbahce in 2005 before returning to Italy three years later to play for Bologna and Cesena.

He last played for Serbian top flight side FK Vojvodina