Tioté

Cheick Ismaël Tioté (French pronunciation: [ʃɛik ismaɛl tjote]; 21 June 1986 – 5 June 2017) was an Ivorian professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. After playing youth football for FC Bibo in his hometown of Yamoussoukro, he made his professional debut in 2005 with Belgian First Division A club Anderlecht. In 2008, following a loan at Roda JC, he joined Eredivisie club FC Twente, winning the title in his second season. In August 2010, he signed for Premier League club Newcastle United in England for a fee of £3.5 million. Tioté played 156 games for Newcastle over six and a half seasons, scoring one goal. In February 2017, he joined China League One club Beijing Enterprises Group. He died of cardiac arrest in June 2017, during a training session, aged 30. Tioté played 55 times for the Ivory Coast national team from 2009 to 2015, scoring once. He represented the country at two FIFA World Cups and four Africa Cup of Nations, winning the 2015 edition of the latter.