Gabon’s all-time leading goalscorer, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, has announced his retirement from international football, citing unfair treatment and humiliation following the team’s group-stage exit at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
The 37-year-old striker made the announcement during a television interview on Tuesday, stating that playing while injured at the tournament in Morocco and subsequently being dropped from the squad irreparably damaged his relationship with the national team.
“They humiliated me and tarnished my image when I had played at AFCON while injured,” Aubameyang said. “It was the last straw and I’d rather leave it here.”
Aubameyang and veteran defender Bruno Ecuele Manga were initially excluded from the squad following Gabon’s performance in Morocco, where the Panthers lost all three group matches, including a 3-2 defeat to Ivory Coast.
President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema described the results as a blow to national identity, prompting the government to dissolve the coaching staff and suspend the team indefinitely. Both players were later reinstated, but Aubameyang said the episode had already taken its toll.
The forward rejected the notion that individual players bore primary responsibility for the team’s failure, noting that the federation’s structural issues extend far beyond any single player. “I think the national team’s problems run much deeper than the little part that I represent,” he said.
Aubameyang’s departure leaves new head coach Sébastien Migné to rebuild the Panthers without their captain and record scorer.
