Crystal Palace striker Jordan Ayew has expressed his joy at sharing the pitch with his brother Andre Ayew for both club and country.
The two brothers are sons of Ghanaian legend Abedi Pele, who won the African Footballer of the Year award three times in his illustrious career.
Jordan and Andre followed in their father’s footsteps by playing for French club Olympique Marseille, where they lifted the league cup and supercup together.
They also teamed up at Swansea City in the Premier League, and have been regulars for the Ghana national team since 2012.
In an interview with Crystal Palace’s media, Jordan said it was a dream come true to play with his elder brother at two World Cups and many other AFCON tournaments.
“We always have happiness when we play together, because we achieved our dreams,” the forward said.
“It was sad to exit the tournament, but we gave our all and represented Ghana in the best way possible.”
He added: “I have a big family, I was raised by grandparents, aunties and uncles. They did a great job. If I’m here today it’s because of them, they played their part. I always say that it’s important for me to remember where I came from, to thank them for their role in bringing me up. I feel blessed.”
Jordan also revealed that he didn’t really want to become a professional footballer when he was young.
He said he enjoyed normal plays with his friends and only started to take football seriously when he was 10 years old.
Ayew further said that, despite coming from a family with generations of footballers, his parents never forced him to play football.
Instead, the Crystal Palace forward said, they encouraged and supported him and his brothers to do whatever they wanted.
