Kevin-Prince Boateng: Ghana and former Barcelona star gets Euro 2020 engagement

Ghana international Kevin-Prince Boateng has been confirmed as a pundit for ARD-Sportschau show’s coverage of the upcoming Uefa European Championship.

The 34-year-old former Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan and Tottenham Hotspur man, who currently plays club football for Italian second-tier side Monza, is set to join the likes of former Germany international and 2014 World Cup winner Bastian Schweinsteiger on set for the tournament.

The competition, originally scheduled for last year, is now set to run between June 11 and July 11 this year. The postponement of the championship to 2021 is among the several disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic last year to major sporting events, the Tokyo Olympic Games inclusive.

Unlike in previous editions of the Euros, matches of this year’s championship will be played across multiple cities - 11 cities in seven countries) - with 24 nations set to battle it out for gold, the title currently held by Portugal.

"The biggest station of my career is now waiting for me," Boateng said on his upcoming engagement in an announcement video by the media outfit.

But for a switch of international allegiance to Ghana in 2014, Boateng, perhaps, could have been bracing himself up for a run on the pitch for Germany at the upcoming tournament.

Born to a Ghanaian father and a German mother in the German city of Berlin, the midfielder featured for his country at youth level before opting to play for Ghana after falling out with German football authorities over disciplinary issues.

Ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Boateng, who had earlier turned down a chance to play for Ghana at the 2006 World Cup, made his debut for the West Africans in a pre-tournament friendly tie against Latvia, and went on to feature in all Ghana’s games at the tournament as the team surpassed expectations to make their way to the quarter-final.

He registered his debut goal for the Black Stars in a 2-1 triumph over the United States in the Round of 16.

Shortly after the tournament, Boateng announced a pre-mature resignation from international duty, citing his inability to cope with the rigour of combining club and international football but rescinded his decision just in time to join Ghana’s squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where he would be sent home from camp ahead of Ghana’s last group game due to indiscipline.