Wednesday, December 29, 2021 at 3:36 PM• Rian Rosendaal • Last update: 16:10

Christian Gyan has died at the age of 43, former teammate Bonaventura Kalou announced on Wednesday via a message on Instagram. The former player of Feyenoord, among others, had been ill for some time. Gyan was under contract in De Kuip for ten years and managed to conquer the UEFA Cup with the Rotterdam club in 2002. Feyenoord still has to confirm the news about the death of the former player.

“Rest well, my brother. You have worked hard,” said the saddened Kalou on Instagram. “My heart goes out to Anita and the children.” Earlier this year it was announced that Gyan was seriously ill and that he could no longer be cured of cancer. At the end of November, Feyenoord said that there were plans for a suitable farewell to the Ghanaian in De Kuip. Sadly, there will be no more goodbyes. Gyan, who was rented out to fellow city rivals Excelsior in between, eventually came to 93 games in the Feyenoord shirt. After his departure from South Rotterdam in 2007, he played briefly in Wales and Finland. In the 2010/11 season he returned to the Netherlands for an adventure with amateur club RKSV Leonidas.

Gyan came to work in the port of Rotterdam after his active career. During that period, the former mandekker ran into financial problems. The Feyenoord supporters got wind of this and soon a fundraising campaign was started to help Gyan. Michel van Egmond also wrote a book about the turbulent football life of the Ghana-born player. As a result, Gyan seemed to be doing better, until he was diagnosed with cancer. Despite the bad news, he soon came up with an update on his health situation.

“Good evening friends. There is news about my situation without my consent,” read a post on Facebook. “As you all know I have been sick for a while but I feel okay and am NOT dying! So please there is no need to panic. I respect the doctors and as you all know I am a man of confidence. That’s why I believe I that the situation will get better. What is impossible from a human perspective is possible with God. Pray for me that I will recover.”