Nathan Aké has dedicated his first goal in the Champions League to his father, who died on Wednesday evening. The defender of Manchester City took the opening goal against RB Leipzig (6-3 win) and was allowed to stay for the entire game from manager Josep Guardiola. A few minutes after his goal, his sick father died, Aké says in a message on Instagram on Thursday.
“The past few weeks have been the hardest of my life,” Aké wrote on the social media channel. “My father was very ill and treatment was no longer available. “I was lucky enough to have a lot of support from my fiancé, family and friends.” Ake accompanies the words with a cheering photo of his goal and a photo with his brother and father, with the three sitting on a wall by the water.
“Yesterday I scored my first Champions League goal after a difficult time and just minutes later he passed away peacefully with my mother and brother by his side. Maybe it was meant to be, when he saw me play he was always proud and happy. I know you are always with me, you will always be in my heart and this one was for you daddy,” Aké continues.
It was Ake’s third starting spot of the season, having started earlier in the Community Shield final against Leicester City and the first round in the Premier League against Tottenham Hotspur. With the Dutch national team, he remained on the bench for the entire game in the past World Cup qualifiers against Norway and Montenegro. Prior to the game against Turkey, it was announced that Aké had left the the Dutch training camp due to private circumstances.