Arsenal's Thomas Partey Has Changed His Name To Yakubu

Arsenal player Thomas Partey has changed his name after converting to Islam.

The Ghanaian midfielder announced recently that he was now going by the name Yakubu.

Speaking about the decision to convert, the 28-year-old told a journalist in Ghana that he was inspired by his girlfriend.

He also explained that he grew up around Muslims when he was a kid, telling Nana Aba Anamoah: "I have a girl that I love but I hardly speak about it."

Anamoah then asked: "So, your girl is Muslim?" to which Partey responded: "Yes."

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Probing further, Anamoah asked: "That's why you have converted to Islam?"

Partey replied: "I grew up with Muslims so at the end of the day it’s the same thing. Now my name is Yakubu."

Back in March this year, a photograph was shared which showed Partey standing alongside a Sheikh in London and holding the Quran.

Yakubu, which is the same name as the former Portsmouth and Middlesbrough striker, is a West African transliteration of the name Jacob. Partey's dad is also called Jacob.

It's unclear as yet whether the footballer will be using his new name on the back of his Arsenal shirt next season.

Well, the footballer isn't the only one changing his name as last week, it was revealed that the Turkish government had asked for the country's name to changed.

The country decided to rebrand itself due to the negative connotations its original name often has.

Leaders haven't taken too kindly to the word 'Turkey' being associated with 'a stupid person' or 'failures', as it is defined in the English dictionary.

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In a letter addressed to the UN's Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu asked that the country be known officially as 'Türkiye' instead of 'Turkey'.

Cavusoglu wrote: "Together with our Directorate of Communications, we have been successful in preparing a good ground for this."

The Anadolu Agency said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for Guterres, confirmed he had received the letter on 1 June.

Quoting Dujarric, the agency said the name change - which is pronounced tur-key-YAY - had become effective 'from the moment' the letter was received.

Topics: Football

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers is LADbible's Editorial Lead. After graduating from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History, he went on to write for the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express. So as you can imagine, he’s spent many a night wondering just how useful that second language has been. But c'est la vie.

@SmithersDom