Deputy captain of the Ghana Black Stars André Morgan Rami Ayew has revealed that growing up as the son of football legend Abedi ‘Pele’ Ayew was a very difficult task.

According to the former Marseille attacker, dealing with the pressures and the comparisons with his father’s playing style had a toll on him, but through persistence and determination, he has managed to convince Ghanaians with his own playing style.

“When I was young it put a lot of pressure on me because everybody was expecting me to do more or be like him [Abedi] but we are two different people and I had to do nice styles and play football my way and it wasn’t easy because anything you do people say you are here because of your dad, it was very difficult,” Ayew told Bola Ray on Starr Chat Wednesday.

Ayew added: “I am very happy and grateful today that Ghanaians have realized that I have worked hard and I am my own Andre Ayew.”

The Swansea dynamo, however, told Bola Ray that despite the immense pressure to live up to his father’s legendary status, he is proud to have the former Black Stars' captain as his father.

“I am proud to have a dad like Abedi Pele for what he has done not only on the field, but also off the field. He was an idol and he made people dream. I know his background and I know what he did to get to where he is today so I can only admire him.”

Profile

André Ayew was born on 17 December 1989 in Lille, France. He is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Swansea City and the Ghana national team.

He is the second-born son of three-time African Footballer of the Year and FIFA 100 member Abedi "Pele" Ayew and has two brothers, Ibrahim and Jordan, who also are professional footballers. In 2011 Ayew was named the BBC African Footballer of the Year and Ghanaian Footballer of the Year.

Ayew began his career in Ghana, playing for Nania, while debuting for the club at age 14. In 2005, he signed with his father's former club, Marseille, and spent two seasons in the club's youth academy before making his debut in the 2007–08 season.

Ayew spent the following two seasons on loan with Lorient and Arles-Avignon, helping the latter team earn promotion to Ligue 1 for the first time. In 2010, he returned to Marseille and became an integral part of the first team under manager Didier Deschamps, making over 200 appearances and winning consecutive Trophée des champions and Coupe de la Ligues in both 2010 and 2011.

Ayew has been a full international for Ghana since 2008 and has earned over 65 caps.

At youth level, he starred for and captained the under-20 team that won both the 2009 African Youth Championship and the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

He has played in two FIFA World Cups (2010 and 2014), as well as four Africa Cup of Nations (2008, 2010, 2012 and 2015), helping them finish runner-up in 2010 and 2015, and was Top Goalscorer at the latter.