Former Arsenal and Manchester City defender, Kolo Toure was accused of cheating on his then-fiancée Awo with UK-based Zimbabwean model Kessel Kasuisyo.

Kessel, in an interview with Mirror in 2012, claimed she had a fling with the Ivorian for two years without knowing his real identity.

According to Kessel, the former center-back introduced himself as 'Francios' claiming that he is a Ghanaian and a salesman who sells cars in Africa.

Toure allegedly hid his identity throughout the fling that lasted from September 2010 to December 2012.

He refused to take pictures with Kessel and also used his Islamic heritage to hinder the model from meeting his parents.

Kessel got to know the true identity of Toure after a friend urged her to google the player upon seeing a picture of him, only to find out that Toure was married.

"I am devastated. On some of the wedding pictures he is crying but a few weeks before he was in my bed.

"Two or three weeks after the wedding he was at mine. Around the time he got married, he called and said he was back in Africa and had just sold two cars.

"I believed everything he said, I am hurt and confused by it all. Maybe he wanted me to be a second wife. I just don’t know. Everything about his strange behaviour now all makes sense."


Kessel told Mirror that they met at a nightclub in Manchester in September 2010 and they began talking before they exchanged numbers.

“He started chatting me up and we swapped numbers,” she said.

“Then he gave me a lift home. The next day he called me and we met at a hotel. I told him he looked familiar and he just said maybe he looks like somebody. He said he sold cars in Africa and did some charity work.”

“He said he came from Ghana and was a student too. He said his father was a minister. I am not a fan of football. I thought maybe I had seen him on telly with his father,” he added.

She said Toure bought him lavish gifts during the period including a lingerie, and even a £1,000 ring to prove his love for her.

She explained that they had an on-and-off relationship, where Toure would disappear and reappear nine months later, adding that he had a cap and sunglass covering his face whenever he visits her.

“He asked if I wanted to meet up and I told him I had my own flat now. He came around in a big car. He was wearing a cap and big sunglasses.

“I told him it was my birthday and he asked me if I would wear some of the stuff he bought me so I got dressed up and we ended up in the bedroom.

“The next time I saw him he bought me a birthday present. He got me a gold watch and some 18-carat diamond earrings.

Kessel said Toure used to call her through a private number with the excuse that he does not want her to waste her money in reaching him.

“He used to call me constantly but from a private number so I couldn’t call back. I was suspicious, but he said he didn’t want me to waste my money calling.

“He once gave me £500 to send to my mother in Zimbabwe. Another time he gave me £200 for food because my fridge was empty. I started to question him about exactly what he did and he would say just selling cars. Things were on and off."

Kolo Toure never reacted to the allegation that popped up after his marriage in 2012.

They tied the knot after nine years of dating and currently have two children, a daughter, and a son.

EE/KPE