Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has retired from international football with Gabon at the age of 37, bringing an end to a career in which he became the Panthers’ all-time leading goalscorer.
The Deportivo striker announced his decision after a prolonged dispute with the Gabon national team that followed the country’s disappointing campaign at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Aubameyang said his treatment after the tournament was the decisive factor in his decision to walk away. He was dropped from the national team alongside fellow veteran Bruno Ecuele Manga before both players were later reinstated.
“They humiliated me and tarnished my image when I had played at AFCON while injured,” Aubameyang said in a television interview, describing the episode as the final breaking point.
Gabon were eliminated in the group stage after losing all three of their matches, including a 3-2 defeat to Ivory Coast. The poor campaign triggered major changes, with the coaching staff dissolved and the national team suspended, while Aubameyang and Ecuele Manga were also left out.
The decision to single out two experienced players generated criticism, while Aubameyang argued that Gabon’s football problems were much broader than his individual contribution. He said he believed the crisis affecting the national team “runs much deeper” than the role he played.
The striker was eventually reinstated but chose not to continue with the Panthers. His decision now brings an end to one of the most prominent international careers in Gabonese football, with Aubameyang leaving as the country’s record goalscorer.
New Gabon head coach Sébastien Migné will therefore begin his tenure without the country’s most recognisable attacking figure of recent years. For Aubameyang, however, the end of his international career comes not with the farewell he might have expected, but after a controversy that he says left him feeling humiliated and unfairly blamed.
