Ghana midfielder Christian Atsu says the death of his father who was addicted to alcoholism inspired his rise as a footballer with the aim of providing for his poverty stricken family one day

Atsu helped Newcastle United to book a promotion back to the English Premier League, after scoring five goals in 34 appearances since joining the Magpies on loan from Chelsea.

Atsu in an extensive interview with Dailymail about his family and career says he was in the first term of a six-month training camp some three hours from home when news came through that his father, Immanuel, was sick and he never saw him again.

'I was not paid at the academy and because of that, my father died. We did not have the money for the treatment,' says Atsu, the youngest of 11 siblings and now a father of two.

'I did not ask anything about the sickness, but I know he was drinking a lot of alcohol. He was a farmer. Now there was no-one to help the family.

'That inspired me. I was either going to be a doctor, to help the sick, or make it as a footballer, to provide for my family.'