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Friends and former teammates of midfielder Cheick Tiote attended a memorial service held for the player by his club Beijing Enterprises in China.
The 30-year-old, who joined the second-tier Chinese side in February after seven years at England’s Newcastle United, collapsed during training and died in hospital last week.
Members of his family, as well as his agent Emanuele Palladino, flew out to China following the shock announcement of his death after he had collapsed while training.
“I lived some extraordinary moments with this man and today he’s gone,” Tiote’s former Newcastle team-mate Papiss Cisse said at the memorial. AFCON winner with Ivory Coast body will be flown back to Ivory Coast on Wednesday before a private funeral service is held.
Fans also paid their respects outside the memorial venue, with an impressive R.I.P banner showing Tiote in a range of kits from his colourful career.
