"Atta Ayi was my friend; I could have become an armed robber too" - Stephen Appiah

Former Black Stars captain Stephen Appiah has revealed that incarcerated criminal Ataa Ayi was his bosom friend growing up in Chorkor, a suburb in Accra.

According to Appiah, he could have become an armed robber if God wasn’t on his side.

Born Ayi Ayittey, the convicted robber is currently serving 160 years at the Ankaful Maximum security prisons in Cape Coast, the Central regional capital.

Speaking on Starr Chat with host Bola Ray on Wednesday, the former Juventus midfielder who captained the Black Stars to its debut World Cup in 2006 said his last visit to the Nsawam prisons revealed that over 15 percent of the prisoners there were his friends he grew up with at Chorkor.

"Ataa Ayi that everybody is talking about was my friend that I ate with," Appiah said.

The former Accra Hearts of Oak, Fenerbahce and Parma midfielder thanked God for his life, adding that he could have ended up in a jail room with Ataa Ayi if not for football.