Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang retires from national team: "They humiliated me"
While experiencing a resurgence with the Spanish club Deportivo La Coruña, the global football star, Gabon's all-time top scorer and the man who brought it to the forefront of world football, is ending his journey with the national team on a sour note.
The great Gabonese striker, who has had an exceptionally rich career in the biggest leagues in the world, has apparently set out for one last challenge in Europe, leaving Marseille for the second time to join Deportivo La Coruña, which returned to the top division in Spain after a long period without success.
He has already managed to score three goals for his new team, and it seems he is on his way to a particularly intriguing season with the newly promoted side. However, in parallel with the new start in the uniform of La Coruña, the great footballer is experiencing a drama in the national team that disgraces his great legacy and the contribution he has made to the team over the years.
The 37-year-old national team captain announced another retirement from the national squad, stating that he feels "humiliated" following his exclusion and subsequent return to the roster. The storm began following the failure at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, from which Gabon was eliminated in the group stage after three consecutive losses, the last of which was 3:2 against Ivory Coast.
In response to the painful elimination, the President of Gabon, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, defined the event as a blow to national identity. The government decided to dissolve the professional staff, suspend the national team's activities, and remove Aubameyang and veteran defender Bruno Ecuele Manga (38) from the squad — a move that sparked great outrage among fans in the country.
Aubameyang did not remain silent and attacked sharply in an interview:
"They humiliated me and slandered my name even though I played in the Africa Cup while injured. This was the straw that broke the camel's back, and I prefer to stop here."
The striker added that the national team's problems are much deeper than him.
Now, Gabon's new national coach, Sébastien Migné, will have to manage without him in the upcoming matches for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, which will be held in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, after the team already missed the 2026 World Cup.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the biggest and most recognizable star in the country's history and its all-time top scorer, despite the fact that he was born and raised in France (to a Spanish mother and a Gabonese father) and played for the France U21 team in his youth. Although he could have chosen to represent global football powers like France or Spain, he ultimately chose to represent Gabon following his father.
