On Sunday,8, November 2020, I had just come back from a spirited church service with a message centered on “Victory through the blood of Jesus”, only to receive a notification from my phone.



I then decided to go through my notifications ending up on Twitter, with an announcement from, Blackstars midfielder, Bernard Mensah announcing his early retirement from national team duties.

Initially, I was struck by the tweet from his Twitter handle, I didn’t know what to make of this development.

“I have decided to take a break from the national team until further notice.  I want to concentrate on my career for now. Thanks to all Ghanaians for their support,”

I have decided to take a break from the national team until further notice .. I want to concentrate on my career for now .. thanks to all Ghanaians for their support pic.twitter.com/Qa185z510V

— Bernard Mensah (@oliver_mens) November 8, 2020

I began asking myself a series of questions, why would a budding potential retire from national team duties at the prime stage of his career,was it borne out of incessant injury situations, was he forced to make this untimely decision by a higher power/authority, what could justify a decision of this magnitude.

Ghana’s Stephen Appiah once said, “If out of the 24 million people [the population of Ghana] you have been selected to be among 11 players to represent the country, you should see that as an opportunity and not the time to bluff your country”. I then ask myself if Mensah knew this?



With time, I assimilated the tweet beginning to recall notable players(Eric Cantona, Marco Van Basten, Fabrice Muamba, Emmanuel Frimpong, Patrick Kluivert, Frank Rijkaard) just to name a few, who had retired from active duties with their national teams at prime ages for varied reasons, injuries playing a dominant role in most of their decision-making but not Mensah’s.

It remains unknown why Akunnor didn’t include him in the upcoming double Afcon qualifiers against Sudan after making a full recovery from the coronavirus he contracted during Ghana’s friendly encounter against Mali and Qatar in Turkey.

The 26-year-old has come under intense scrutiny from a section of Besiktas fans for failing to establish himself as a mainstay since he joined the club from Kayserispor on loan making eight appearances and scoring a goal.

Mensah, 26, made his intentional debut with the Blackstars on 8 June, 2015 some five years ago in 1-0 win over Togo in an international friendly played in Accra.

Mensah has played for sides like Vitoria de Guimaraes,Getafe, Kayserispor and now Besiktas.

Hopefully, this decision on the part of Bernard Mensah doesn’t go a long way to harm him or his career.

All the best to one of Ghana’s creative midfielders who failed to showcase what he had with us.

Turkish powerhouse Galatasaray have all but sealed a move to add Ghanaian international Bernard Mensah to their ranks from fellow top-flight side Kayserispor.

The midfield gem caught the attention of many clubs this season after successfully impressing with his strong performance for his current club, banging in five goals and notching eight assists in 23 league appearances.

It’s no surprise that, Turkish sides Fenerbeche, Besiktas as well as English and German side, Wolves and Schalke were all said to have enquired about the services of the young midfielder but it’s Galatasaray have jumped ahead of it’s competition to make a solid move.

They have however agreed to pay Kayserispor’s asking price of 3.6 million euros to secure their man.

Mensah’s contract with the Turkish club Kayserispor’s will elapse next season, 2022 but the player wants a new challenge in order to test himself.

The Ghanaian playmaker has been ever present in Turkey, starting out with Kasimpasa on loan, playing a total of 30 games scoring five, moving on to Kayserispor on loan and playing 24 games with three goals before signing on permanatly with them last season.

Hopefully, he successfully secures this move to bolster his professional carer that spans over half a decade.