Kevin-Prince Boateng explains why he doesn't play for Germany
Kevin-Prince Boateng has explained why he chose to play for Ghana instead of Germany.
At the age of 22, Kevin-Prince Boateng decided that he would turn down the opportunity to play for the German national team and represent Ghana instead.
In an interview with Gazetta dello Sport, the 31-year-old, who grew up in Germany, explains his decision.
"There was no room for me there (in the German national team), because I always say what I think. Back then, a guy like me wasn't wanted," Boateng said and added:
"I wanted to represent who I am by playing for my country, and that's why I chose to play for Ghana. I'm happy because it enabled me to discover my origins."
Boateng played for Germany at youth level and was called up for Germany's preliminary squad for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, but was omitted from the final squad.
Officially, the reason was an injury, but at the time, there were speculations that a pub crawl involving some of the players influenced the decision made by Horst Hrubesch, German Under-21 coach at the time.
Kevin-Prince Boateng's half-brother, Bayern München star Jerome Boateng, plays for Germany, and they faced each other at the World Cups in 2010 and 2014.
At club level, the 31-year-old midfielder currently plays for Serie A side Sassuolo.
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