Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has announced he is stepping away from international football with Gabon again after accusing the country’s authorities of humiliating and tarnishing him following the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
The 37-year-old forward, who has represented the Panthers for more than 15 years, said the latest disagreement had convinced him that the time had come to end his international career for good.
Speaking on Canal+ programme Talents d’Afrique, Aubameyang expressed his anger at being left out after Gabon exited the tournament at the group stage.
“They humiliated and tarnished me even though I played at the Africa Cup of Nations while injured,” said the Deportivo La Coruna striker. “That was the final straw and I prefer to stop there.”
The decision follows another dispute with the Gabonese authorities, just months after the team lost all three of its matches at the tournament. The government subsequently suspended Aubameyang and Bruno Ecuele Manga, although both players were reinstated several days later.
It is the latest breakdown in a relationship that has repeatedly been marked by conflict, retirement, reconciliation and renewed tension.
A difficult start to the latest chapter
The first major episode came at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, which was played in Cameroon in January 2022. Aubameyang was then preparing to leave Arsenal during the winter transfer window and departed the tournament without playing a minute.
He had initially contracted Covid-19 alongside Mario Lemina before the competition began. The situation became controversial when a video emerged showing the pair without masks in a nightclub during an evening out at Gabon’s pre-tournament training camp in the United Arab Emirates, where they may have contracted the virus.
Although subsequent tests were negative, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) refused to allow them to take part, citing the potential risk of cardiac complications.
The Gabonese federation therefore authorised both players to return to their clubs, officially because of CAF’s decision. Unofficially, the move was also linked to disciplinary concerns, amid reports that the pair had returned to the national-team hotel with women after a night of drinking. Aubameyang left the competition early in an atmosphere already clouded by controversy.
“Am I still an international player? For now, it is on standby,” he told beIN Sports in March 2022.
Two months later, he made his position official. On 17 May 2022, Aubameyang announced his retirement from international football at the age of 32. In a letter, he referred to “13 years of pride in representing my country” and thanked the people of Gabon, his coaches, team-mates and his father.
That separation lasted only a year.
Return, then another dispute
In May 2023, Aubameyang came out of retirement after meeting President Ali Bongo, who acted as an intermediary between the player, the federation and the coaching staff.
Tensions returned in 2024, this time involving Thierry Mouyouma, who had been appointed manager in October 2023. Aubameyang did not attend the new manager’s first training camp, citing an injury but failing to appear for an examination to confirm it.
Mouyouma later said he had tried to contact the player without receiving a reply. He left Aubameyang out of the squad in November and again in March 2024.
Aubameyang’s camp disputed that account. “The reality is that they never spoke to each other,” people close to the player told La Provence, describing the treatment as “unworthy” and saying it was difficult to see how the pair could work together in the future.
The two men eventually met towards the end of March to clear the air.
“We spoke with complete honesty. He told me what he had to say and I did the same,” Aubameyang later told RFI. “People create unnecessary tensions. (…) He was made to believe that I was someone who perhaps thought he was better than others, while I was being told that he was pretending to try to contact me.”
Aubameyang returned to the national team once again and helped Gabon reach the semi-finals of the African play-offs for the 2026 World Cup. His contribution included a memorable four-goal performance in a 4-3 victory over The Gambia.
Now, after another exclusion and accusations he considers humiliating, Aubameyang appears to have reached the limit of his patience.
Gabon are losing their captain and record goalscorer, who has scored 40 goals in 86 appearances. His international career has instead become defined by a cycle of departures, comebacks and fresh disputes.
That outcome will be particularly disappointing for a player who chose Gabon at the age of 19 without hesitation, despite being eligible to represent France.
His record with the national team will also feel unfinished when compared with the scale of his club career. Gabon endured disappointing runs at two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments held on home soil, reaching the quarter-finals in 2012 before being eliminated in the group stage in 2017.
