Staff Reporter.
@PL.
Nathan Ake has revealed his father died minutes after the Manchester City defender scored his first Champions League goal on Wednesday.
Ake, 26, headed the opener after 16 minutes in City’s 6-3 victory against RB Leipzig at Etihad Stadium.
In a post on social media on Thursday, Ake said his father Moise passed away later that evening.
“I know you’re always with me, you will always be in my heart and this one was for you, dad,” he wrote on Instagram.
“The past few weeks have been the toughest of my life, my dad has been very ill and there was no more treatment possible. I was lucky to have a lot of support from my fiancé, family and friends.
“Yesterday after a difficult time I scored my first Champions League goal, and only a few minutes after he passed away peacefully with my mum and brother by his side.
“Maybe it was meant to be, watching me play always made him proud and happy.”
Ake, who began his career at Chelsea, has made 16 appearances for Manchester City since joining the club from Bournemouth for £40m in the summer of 2020.
He also has 22 caps for the Netherlands since making his international debut in 2017.
Meanwhile Reece James’ house was broken into while he was playing for Chelsea against Zenit St Petersburg in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old England right-back says his Euro 2020 runners-up medal, Champions League winner’s medal and Super Cup winner’s medal were stolen.
He added that “luckily” nobody was at his house during the robbery.
James, writing on Instagram, said: “I want to let all of you know I am safe and well.”
The defender was part of the Chelsea side which beat Manchester City in last season’s Champions League final in May.
He then helped England reach the final of Euro 2020, which Gareth Southgate’s side lost to Italy on penalties, in the summer before helping Chelsea beat Villarreal in the Super Cup earlier this season.
“A group of cowardly robbers broke into my house,” said James. “They managed to collectively lift a heavy safe containing some personal items of mine into their car.
“I never keep any jewellery of mine in my house so all that was contained in the safe were my Champions League winner’s medal and Super Cup winner’s medal and the runners-up medal for Euro 2020.
“These medals were won representing Chelsea and England – honours that can never be taken away from me whether or not I have the physical medals to prove it.
“Nevertheless, I am appealing to all my Chelsea and England fans to help identify and turn in these low-life individuals who will never be able to rest easy as the evidence is mounting against them.
“The police, my advisers and Chelsea FC (and many others) are all behind me as we have firm leads on who the perpetrators are. We are closing in on them.”