Overview
- Pierre‑Emerick Aubameyang announced Wednesday that he will not play for the Gabon national team for now, saying officials “humiliated” him and smeared his name after the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
- After Gabon lost all three group games at the 2025 AFCON, the government dissolved the technical staff, suspended national‑team activity and excluded veterans including Aubameyang before a new sports minister later lifted those bans.
- Aubameyang has moved his focus to club football at Deportivo La Coruña, where he has scored early in the season and said he wants to concentrate on his revived club form.
- His decision comes with 2027 AFCON qualifying fixtures imminent, including an away match in Morocco on Sept. 23, and leaves coach Sébastien Migné to select and rebuild the squad without the team’s leading scorer.
- This is not Aubameyang’s first break from international duty — he retired in 2022 and later returned — so his withdrawal could be reversible, but it also highlights the political strain on Gabonese football and the immediate impact on fans and player selection.