Gabon - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang retires from the Panthers: "They humiliated and tarnished me"

Gabon's Panthers captain, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, has announced his retirement from the national team. At 37, Gabon's all-time leading scorer is turning his back on the national team, a few months after being excluded from the squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

In an interview with a Gabonese television station on Tuesday, September 1st, the striker reflected on the recent events that marked his time with the national team. Aubameyang said he experienced his exclusion, followed by his reinstatement after Gabon's elimination, as a humiliation.

“They humiliated and smeared me even though I played in the Africa Cup of Nations while injured,” he denounced. For the former Panthers captain, this episode was the last straw. “It was the final straw, and I prefer to stop there,” he added.

Aubameyang still has a bitter taste in his mouth from the 2025 AFCON.

This decision comes amid particularly tense relations between the player and the Gabonese authorities. Aubameyang believes he has been singled out as one of those responsible for the Panthers' failure to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Gabon exited the competition in the group stage after three defeats. The last one, against Ivory Coast (3-2), sealed the Gabonese team's elimination.

Despite his status as captain and top scorer in the history of the national team, Aubameyang has not gotten over the way he feels he was treated after this African campaign.

His withdrawal thus marks a new turning point in the player's history with the national team, which he had already temporarily left in the past.