Asamoah Gyan dismisses 'wild, absurd' Ghanaian rapper Castro 'ritual killing' claims

Ghana football team captain Asamoah Gyan has denied claims that he killed his friend and Ghanaian rapper Castro as part of a ritual sacrifice, dismissing them as being wild and absurd.

Afrobeats artist Castro, whose real name is Theophilus Tagoe, went missing, along with friend Janet Bandu, in July. The two disappeared while using jet skis on holiday with former Sunderland striker Gyan's family in the Ghanaian coastal town of Ada.

Allegations in Ghana's media suggested that the disappearance was suspicious, as Castro and Bandu were last seen heading towards the ocean on a jet ski and were presumed drowned, The BBC reported.

No bodies were recovered and the rumors continued circulating this month when Gyan's brother Baffour Gyan was alleged to have been part of a gang that attacked a journalist who had asked the player about the rumors. The assault charges on Baffour have now been dropped.

The speculation prompted the striker, who joined United Arab Emirates side Al-Ain in 2011, to hold a press conference. His lawyer Kissi Agyabeng said that the family had been dismayed and had remained silent until now as they did not want to interfere with police investigations.

The statement from Gyan's lawyer said that what sells in the media, and what indeed sold and is still selling in the media in Ghana. It also stated that there are wild allegations and rumors directed especially at the striker, ranging from the absurd, of the imputation of criminality to him in the sense that he either murdered Castro or had him kidnapped, and ending with the ludicrous, that he sacrificed the rapper spiritually to enhance his career.