Nathan Aké Confirms That His Father Died 'minutes' After Scoring His First Ever Champions League Goal.

Manchester City's star Nathan Aké confirms that his father died 'minutes' after scoring his first ever Champions League goal.

Nathan Aké scored his first goal in the Champions League at home to RB Leipzig on Wednesday evening.

The 26-year-old Dutch defender scored the first of six goals with a powerful header, as the club began their 2021/22 Champions League campaign against RB Leipzig at the Etihad on Wednesday evening.

It was a goal thriller encounter, as five other different Man City players also scored in the game which ended in a 6-3 victory on the night.

But while he was on the field, his father, who had been battling a long illness, died 'peacefully' with his mum and brother at his side.

In an emotional Instagam post, the Dutch footballer paid an emotional tribute and dedicated the goal to his dad.

"The past few weeks have been the toughest of my life, my dad has been very ill and there was no more treatment possible... The post reads.

"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. I know you're always with me, you will always be in my heart and this one was for you dad."

Ake, who began his career at Chelsea, has made 16 appearances for Manchester City and scored two goals since  joining the club from Bournemouth for £40m in the summer of 2020.

He won the Premier League and EFL Cup in his first season for City.

According to reports, Nathan Ake had withdrew from the Netherlands squad for the recent 2022 World Cup qualifier game against Turkey, following news that his father was terminally ill.

He has so far made 22 caps for the Netherlands and scored twice since making his international debut in 2017.