Alexander Isak has arguably become the hottest asset in the Premier League thanks to his amazing work for Newcastle United this season. The 25-year-old’s impressive form in the 2024/25 campaign has seen him linked with major teams like Barcelona, PSG and Arsenal and he looks primed for a big money move soon.
The Swedish forward has been playing as a professional football since the age of 16 and remains the youngest player to have scored a goal for AIK, his youth club. A key reason for him flourishing into a quality footballer at AIK was because of the sheer support he received from his parents while growing up the Solna Municipality in Stockholm County.
Alexander was born on 21 September, 1999 in Sweden and that automatically made him a Swedish citizen. However, he is actually the child of two Eritrean parents who had to escape the country in the late 1980s due to Civil War tormenting life for people in the East African country.
It was his father, Teame, who made the decision for him and his wife to escape Eritrea and move to Sweden to pursue a better life for him and his family. They would be blessed with two children after moving to Sweden, Alexander Isak and his brother Sened Teame.
Teame took up the role of a school teacher in Sweden and was even responsible for teaching AIK legend Henok Goitom the Eriterean language Tigrinya when he was a child. The 25-year-old Newcastle star has credited his parents’ tough journey of immigrating from Eritrea to Sweden as a factor that helped keep him humble, as he noted: “It’s not easy to start a new life. What my parents went through, that’s their story, but that gives me perspective and discipline. I went to Eritrea to see where they grew up, it was humbling, to see how people can be happy with so little. I try and separate myself from the football world and appreciate the silence.”
The Swedish forward’s youth teacher at AIK, Nahom Ghidey, has also credited Teame and his family for playing a significant impact in keeping him grounded, as he told the BBC: “We had a special bond, because we are both of Eritrean origin. Alexander’s parents came to Stockholm in the 1980s because of the long civil war, and he grew up as a Swede but was always close to Eritean culture.
“Eritreans are proud, strong and patriotic people, and that background was influential. His father, Teame, is a teacher and Alexander has always received a lot of love and support from his family. I’m certain that the unique mixture of Swedish and Eritrean cultures produced a special footballer.”
The Swedish footballer has been very discreet with his religious beliefs throughout his career and never given any hint over it on the pitch for Newcastle United. However, he is speculated to be a Christian as the majority of the population in Eritrea are believed to follow Christianity. In 2010, it was surveyed that 63% of the population in the country are Christian and there isn’t strong evidence that can refute any speculation that Isak follows Christianity.
Even though Alexander Isak has become one of the most popular footballers on the planet, his parents continue living a quiet life behind the scenes. His father, Teame, is quite proactive on Twitter (where has just over 200 followers) where he often reposts content praising his son. He also continuously posts content promoting Eritrean culture and remains deeply connected to his roots.
In fact, he also inspired his son to revisit Eritrea in 2024 and visit a football school to inspire the budding footballers in the country. Even though he could’ve played for the Eritrean football team, Isak opted to play for Sweden as because the country gave him the platform for becoming a footballing sensation.
The reason why Isak has not let the surge of popularity change his personality is mainly because of how his parents raised him. The 25-year-old remains focused on his goal of becoming one of the best strikers in world football and keep his family’s name flying high with his achievements on the pitch.
