Gyan gets $12m-a-year deal

Black Stars skipper, Asamoah Gyan, struck pure gold in the gulf after signing a multi-million dollar contract extension which tied him to top UAE club side, Al Ain, until 2018.

The jackpot, stuffed with improved terms, would see the Ghanaian pocketing over $1million a month or $250,000 per week.

Although details of the contract are under wraps, sources close to the player hinted the Graphic Sports that the new deal was twice the over £6million he previously received each season.

The new deal ushers the 28-year-old Ghanaian hitman into the world’s highest-earning class, comprising Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney and Gareth Bale, among others.

Al-Ain’s mouth-watering offer follows Gyan’s record at the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup where his two great strikes against Germany and Portugal made him Africa’s top scorer at the Mundial with six goals.

The clinical finisher was an instant hit in Sunderland after joining the English Premiership side after the South Africa 2010 World Cup, but soon made a surprise switch to Al Ain in 2011 and emerged as the league's top scorer in his debut season to steer the club nicknamed Al Zaeem, side to their 10th league title.

He has since remained in consistent scoring form to emerge top scorer season after season, while helping Al Ain to win some Asian competitions as well.

However, as Gyan continues to revel in his millionaire status, so do some pundits across the globe struggle to fathom why he is wasting his talent in a less-fancied Asian league instead of returning to the more demanding European terrain to improve his career.

At the recent World Cup in Brazil, former Holland and Mancheter United striker, Ruud van Nistelrooy, stressed the need for Gyan to return to Europe to rub shoulders with the big boys after scoring one of the best goals at the tournament.

But Gyan is not enthused about such suggestions, especially when he is currently earning about four times what Sunderland were offering him.