Jordan Ayew: Six relegations, 5 clubs – What’s next for the Black Stars captain?

Jordan Ayew is no stranger to the highs and lows of professional football. But right now, the Ghana international finds himself navigating one of the most testing stretches of his career – a sixth relegation in just over a decade, this time with Leicester City.

For a player of his experience, quality, and longevity, the numbers make for sobering reading. Six relegations across five clubs is a record that raises eyebrows — but it also tells a far more nuanced story than a simple statistic can capture.

To fully understand the weight of Ayew's situation, it's worth mapping out exactly how this record has accumulated over the years.

MUST READ: 10 most expensive football trophies in the world

Here is every relegation Jordan Ayew has experienced in his professional career:

• 2013/14 — FC Sochaux-Montbéliard (Ligue 1 to Ligue 2)

• 2014/15 — FC Lorient (Ligue 1 to Ligue 2)

• 2015/16 — Aston Villa FC (Premier League to Championship)

• 2017/18 — Swansea City AFC (Premier League to Championship)

• 2024/25 — Leicester City FC (Premier League to Championship

• 2025/26 — Leicester City FC (Championship to League One)

That final entry is the one making headlines in 2026. Leicester City, a club that famously won the Premier League title just a decade ago, has now suffered back-to-back relegations, dropping from England's top flight into the Championship last season and now sinking further into League One in the 2025/26 campaign.

READ ALSO: World Cup 2026 group stage qualification rules and tie-break criteria explained

For Ayew, who was part of the squad throughout this collapse, it means a second consecutive relegation with the same club and a sixth in total across his career.

It would be easy and lazy to look at those numbers and draw the wrong conclusions. Relegation, in almost every case in Ayew's record, has been a team failure rather than an individual one.

The Ghanaian forward has consistently been praised throughout his career for his work rate, tactical intelligence, and ability to perform under pressure. His versatility operating across the front line, pressing from the front, and contributing both defensively and offensively has made him a valued presence at every club he has represented.

The uncomfortable truth in football is this: even talented, committed, and experienced players can find themselves caught in clubs that are structurally, financially, or managerially unprepared to compete at the required level. Ayew has, unfortunately, found himself in that position more times than most.

To understand Ayew's 2025/26 relegation, you need to understand the broader collapse happening at Leicester City FC.

Once celebrated as the greatest underdog story in Premier League history following their 2015/16 title triumph, Leicester have since undergone a painful decline. Financial pressures, managerial instability, and a lack of investment in the squad have all played their part in the club's dramatic fall from grace.

After dropping out of the Premier League at the end of the 2024/25 season, many expected Leicester to mount an immediate promotion challenge in the Championship. Instead, their struggles continued, and the club ultimately suffered a second successive relegation — landing in League One for the first time in decades.

READ MORE: 5 strikers that could lead Ghana's attack at the 2026 FIFA World Cup

It is a stunning fall for a historic club and one that has caught several experienced professionals, Ayew included, in its wake.

The question now is what the 2026/27 season holds for the experienced Ghanaian forward.

Ayew faces a genuine crossroads. The options in front of him are broadly the following:

• 1. Stay at Leicester and help rebuild Some players choose loyalty, particularly when they believe in a club's long-term vision. Leicester, despite their fall to League One, remain a large club with significant infrastructure, a strong fanbase, and the financial motivation to bounce back quickly. Staying and helping drive promotion could be a powerful story.

• 2. Seek a move to a higher division At 33, Ayew's priority may be to remain competitive at the highest level possible. A move to a Championship club – or even a Premier League side – would allow him to continue performing on a bigger stage and potentially avoid a third consecutive relegation battle.

• 3. Explore opportunities abroad. European leagues, the MLS, or other international competitions could offer Ayew a fresh environment and a chance to end his career on his own terms, away from the turbulence of English football's lower divisions.

Whichever path he chooses, one thing is clear: Jordan Ayew still has something to offer. His experience, professionalism, and resilience are qualities that clubs at multiple levels would