Ghanaian striker Bernard Tekpetey believes his performances in European football have deserved greater recognition from the Black Stars, expressing frustration over his prolonged absence from the national team.

The Ludogorets forward says he struggled to understand why he was overlooked after an outstanding 2018/19 campaign with German side SC Paderborn, where he scored 10 goals and provided eight assists.

The 29-year-old, speaking in an interview with Kumasi-based sports journalist Perry Paisley, questioned the suggestion that his time for another Black Stars invitation was simply not right.

“If it's not my time to be called, then why did they call me when I was 18? And when I came, I came to prove to the Ghanaians that I can do it. So, why didn't they call me after that?” he asked.

Tekpetey also pointed to what he considers inconsistencies in the selection of players, particularly when footballers performing in European competitions are overlooked for others playing in less prominent leagues.

“If you're playing in Europe and you're playing in the Champions League or Europa League, you're scoring, you're making assists and all of a sudden, a national team comes up, and they don't call you, and they go and call somebody from Slovakia or Cyprus or Czech Republic to come and play ahead of you, even with zero goals, zero assists, how would you feel? You would feel very bad,” he said.

While expressing his disappointment, Tekpetey was careful not to single out any individual or directly accuse the Ghana Football Association of making selection decisions.

He acknowledged that the national team has its own approach to selecting players but insisted that his priority remains delivering for his club.

“Sometimes you just have to close your eyes because you're not playing because of the national team. You're playing in your club because you want to excel, you want to make yourself very proud, you want to take care of your family, and you want to make sure everything is good for yourself,” he added.

Tekpetey has earned two senior caps for Ghana, making his debut against Egypt at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations on January 25, 2017. Despite his continued club career in Europe, he has struggled to secure another opportunity with the Black Stars.