by I saw people die when I was a 15-year-old ambulance driver before going on to become a Newcastle cult hero
NEWCASTLE cult hero Papiss Cisse has revealed that he saw people die as a 15-year-old ambulance driver in Senegal.
Cisse starred for Newcastle between 2012 and 2016 after joining from German side Freiburg for £9.3million.
The striker went on to score 44 times in 131 games for the Magpies before leaving for China.
After spending two years in Asia, Cisse played for three Turkish clubs across a four-year spell before ending up back in France, where he plays for Ligue 2 side Amiens.
Cisse also carved out a stellar international career, scoring 17 times for his country.
But before his football career took off, he lived a very different life.
The 37-year-old has revealed that before he became a Toon army icon, he was an ambulance driver aged 15 and even saw people die.
Speaking to BBC’s Late Kick Off in 2013, Cisse said: “I saw people die in the past when I was 15 and driving the ambulance.
“I was only 15, which is very young, and that was why I stopped going to school because I had this job.
“Some times I had a little money which I gave to my parents.
“It was hard for me, it was very difficult for me because I was so young.
“My first time in the job I saw someone die and I cried but I became strong.”
Cisse continued: “Senegal is my country and my city is Sedhiou but the city is small and the people don’t have money and the hospital is not good. My aim is to buy an ambulance.
“This is my first job to drive an ambulance so I think to buy an ambulance for my city is very important for me.
“It is my city, it is my brother, my sister, my friend, my family.”
Cisse also went into detail later on in an interview with the Mirror, recalling as traumatic experience that saw a pregnant woman pass away.
He said: “It left you desolate, seeing what happened to them. One day, we were taking a pregnant woman to hospital.
“She became ill and passed away in front of us when we were on
“It was very, very moving. I used to help take care of some very ill people on the journeys.
“The worst was when you were evacuating a kid, but you could not save them. Terrible.”
