The revelation that former Ghana midfielder Sulley Muntari wants a return to the team has been amusing.

Amusing, because, since he was suspended indefinitely from the national side, there has been no hint from the player that he wants a return.

And he has had plenty of opportunities to ask for a return. With Avram Grant taking charge of the team, the former AC Milan man could have made his move.

He did not.

On Thursday evening, Dr. Kofi Amoah, head of the GFA Normalization Committee, said Muntari had called him to put in a word with Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah as this year’s AFCON approaches kick off.

“I had a call from Sulley Muntari and the way he was talking with passion I couldn't believe it,” Dr. Amoah told Metro TV.

“He said if coach Kwesi Appiah will only play him for 15 minutes, he will be grateful and accept it. This is a player who was clubless but now playing regularly but I think the final decision is in the hands of the coach,” he added.

The Black Stars went into AFCON 2015, and before the tournament, there were sections of the public who wanted him back. 

He said nothing.

Ghana finished as finalists. Another AFCON came, in 2017. Still, nothing. Ghana finished fourth.

What is even more curious is that, all this while, the player was truly having a nightmare at club level.

After his incident with the Stars, Muntari's career took a decidedly downward spiral. In the close to five years since leaving the national team, Sulley has played just 37 games - that's an average of 7.4 games annually.

In that time, he has scored three goals.

Here's a graphical representation of his form, over the period.

In short, it has not been good.

Despite these numbers, many believe that his experience – honed from 84 caps since 2002 and across many tournaments – cannot be thrown away so easily.

Kwesi Appiah has a decision to make.

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