Alleged ex-Arsenal player joins 'ruthless Jihadi fighters waging war in Syria'

A former Arsenal footballer, who is said to have grown up playing with Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, has allegedly joined a band of 'ruthless' Jihadi fighters waging war in Syria.

The fighter, who now calls himself Abu Issa Al-Andalusi, reportedly turned his back on a footballer's playboy lifestyle after becoming radicalised two years ago and was filmed wielding an AK47 and proclaiming holy war in two videos on an extremist website.

According to the Mirror, fellow jihadists said that the fighter 'grew up with Ronaldo in Portugal, played for Arsenal, and then left football, money and the European way of life for the sake of Allah', although Arsenal insisted that they do not recognise Al-Andalusi and does not have any record of him 'representing the club at any level'.

The report mentioned that in the footage, Al-Andalusi, who appears to be in his late 20s, appears in a mask in one of the videos, calling on Muslims to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which has been blamed for extreme violence against other Islamist groups, Kurds and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

The man called on Muslims to protect their children from 'these animals, dirty people whom Allah termed as worst of creatures', adding that they have conquered many cities and have forced 'kaffers' (non-Muslims) into paying tax.

Another former professional footballer, Nizar Trabelsi, who had played in Germany for Fortuna Dusseldorf, was lined up for terror attacks after joining al-Qaeda, the report added.