14 November 2023 , 08:28
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Premier League cult hero Papiss Cisse is training with seventh-tier Macclesfield ahead of a potential return to English football.
Cisse, who turned 38 in June, has been without a club since being released by Amiens in the second division of French football this past summer. The former Newcastle striker, best remembered for his sensational goal against Chelsea in 2012, spent four years with the Magpies, netting 44 times over five seasons.
His prolific early days partnering Demba Ba up front are still talked about at St James' Park but Senegal international Cisse never reached those same heights again while playing in China and Turkey afterwards. Now he's back on English soil and training with Macclesfield, who are co-owned by ex- Wales international Robbie Savage and managed by Alex Bruce, son of Manchester United hero Steve.
Cisse, who lives locally, could now sign for them, according to the Telegraph, having finished as Amiens' top scorer last term with 12 goals. Macclesfield were expelled from the National League in 2020 after being wound up by the High Court and the phoenix club have been working their way back up the pyramid ever since.
Last season, the Silkmen romped to promotion into the NPL Premier Division and are currently sixth in the league table. Savage took the controversial decision to sack manager Danny Whitaker in October and replaced the promotion-winning boss with former Hull defender Bruce, giving the 39-year-old his first managerial job after ending his playing career at the club.
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Macclesfield earned their fourth win in a row on Saturday by beating Whitby 2-1, with one of the goals coming from John Rooney, brother of ex- England captain and United legend Wayne Rooney. Cisse's compatriot and former Everton striker Oumar Niasse, who's played for Burton Albion and Morecambe in recent years, has also been training with the Silkmen.
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Papiss Cisse is best remembered for this jaw-dropping goal against Chelsea (Action Images)Cisse has come a long way from where he first began in Senegal, with the St James' Park favourite first working as an ambulance driver to make ends meet. "I did a lot of collections for the sick, if women are pregnant so they don’t lose their babies," he told The Mag earlier this year.
"Sometimes I'd have to drive two or three hours just to get someone to the good hospital. But on the other side, my big brother was telling me that I had to go and play football, because you can help your community this way. Somebody can be an ambulance driver like you, we can find another driver like you, but we can't find a lot of players like you."