Captain of the Black Stars, Andre Dede Ayew has described as an honour, his being adjudged ‘Footballer of the Year’ at the Ghana Football Awards held over the weekend.

Speaking on the Super Morning Show on Monday, Dede Ayew was glad that the hard work exhibited during the football seasons paid off.

“You get into every season and you always want to do your best, you always want to be at the top knowing that you have your fellow colleagues also aiming for the same thing. But I think I worked really hard and I kept going,” he said.

Dede Ayew bagged the award in spite of keen competition from two big names in football; Kudus Mohammed, and Gladson Awako.

The interview was his first after winning the award.

Andre revealed that prior to winning the award, he had been discouraged that he would never win any local award because he decided to play for English Football club, Swansea City.

The Black Stars captain however did not allow the comments to have an impact on his career. He said he remained resolute and continued to work hard. Thus, the honour.

“Starting the season, when I decided to stay at Swansea, everyone was telling me to forget about individual votes because I decided to stay in the championship. Forget about the Ghana Awards and don’t even dream about African player of the year and I just stayed calm. But I did my best on the pitch,” he said.

Andre Ayew began his career at age 14 in Ghana. He started playing for his father’s club Nania FC.

In 2005, he signed a deal with his father’s former France-based club, Marseille, and spent two seasons in the club’s youth academy before making his debut in the 2007–2008 season.

He has been privileged to play for other International football clubs. Recently, he ended his latest contract with Swansea City Association Football Club.