Cheick Tioté Biography

Cheick Ismaël Tioté was a footballer from the Ivory Coast. In his 12-year-long senior career, he played for clubs like Twente, Newcastle United, and Beijing Enterprises. The defensive midfielder also played for the Ivorian national team from 2009 to 2015. A native of Yamoussoukro, Tioté began playing football when he was ten years old, participating barefoot in street games. In 1998, he joined FC Bibo, where he spent the next seven years. In 2005, he was spotted by a scout representing the Belgian club Anderlecht and subsequently entered into a three-year contract with them. In 2008, after being loaned to Roda JC, he became a member of the roster of the Dutch club FC Twente. In his second season there, he was part of their Eredivisie-winning squad. In 2010, he signed a £3.5 million contract with the English Premier League team Newcastle United. He played 156 games in the six-and-a-half seasons he spent there. In 2017, he began playing for Beijing Enterprises of the China League One. In June that year, he passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest during a training session. He was only 30 years old at the time.