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.
