Ghana’s former international football player, Kwame Ayew has cautioned football players to acquire some basic level of formal education that would enable them to read and write before leaving the shores of Ghana to practice their trade.

“If players are able to read and write, it would be difficult for crooks parading as football agents to lure them into signing atrocious contracts.”

Ayew, younger brother of the celebrated Abedi Ayew Pele has said.

According to the prolific goal merchant for Portuguese side, Victoria Setubal, a lot of agents are picking out on the inability of our players to read and understand contracts to their selfish advantage.”

"If for nothing at all, they (players) must endeavour to learn what is stipulated in the contract so that they don't end up in the hands of Shalocks."

"There are hundreds of agents in the sport who are only interested in sucking the blood of players and one must be careful not to slip into their trap," Ayew cautioned.

He said, thousands of players from Africa are brought to Europe and Asia and dumped there by those he described as charlatans after rending them poorer than before."

"Many talented players who could have been like some of the big names around have all ended badly because they had signed contracts that bound them to clubs probably for life," he lamented.

The 1992 Barcelona, Olympics bronze medalist said he saw nothing wrong with players joining the 'exodus train' - "but they have to be cautious."