Antoine Semenyo credits spiritual support for breakout season at Bournemouth

Ghana international Antoine Semenyo has revealed the spiritual support that played a key role in his impressive Premier League campaign with AFC Bournemouth.

The 24-year-old forward enjoyed a standout season, netting 11 goals and providing 4 assists for the Cherries.

Speaking in an interview with Showmax, Semenyo shared how regular prayers with a pastor helped boost his confidence and performance on the pitch.

Interestingly, the pastor in question is Junior Stanislas — a former Bournemouth player and now a season ticket holder at the club.

“Yeah, a season ticket holder. Do you know what's so funny? I met him through one of the players. He used to be here, Junior Stanislas, and I was just looking for a church. And he passed me his number. I started speaking with him, I got a good vibe from him, and he told me that he's a season ticket holder. He comes to the games and watches us," he said.

As their relationship grew, Semenyo decided to incorporate prayer into his pre-match routine, inviting Stanislas to pray with him before kick-off.

“And over time, he started to build a little connection, and I thought, I want to show my faith to the world. It's important to me. So I proposed the idea of him praying with me before the before the games. Everyone's intrigued to see what's going down. But yeah, I just want to share my faith with the world.

“So he would come over to this little part here, and then we just pray it out. Just give me that protection in the game, the Holy Spirit to lead me to goals. Keep me injury-free. And yeah, it's all off-the-cuff freestyle, really," he added.

Semenyo’s form has not gone unnoticed, with top European clubs including Manchester United and Liverpool reportedly expressing interest in securing his services.