A secret divorce, the tragic death of his footballer father and the riot-hit ghetto where his proud migrant mother STILL lives: The extraordinary rise of the Premier League's Player of the Year Riyad Mahrez

The shy 25-year-old star has risen from one of the most impoverished districts in Paris and overcome numerous rejections to be named the new PFA Player of the Year (right). Here, MailOnline reveals the defining role of his Algerian father Ahmed (circled, bottom left) played in his life - and the impact his death had - as well as how his mother struggled to put food on the table from him and older brother Wahid (top left, with mother). Friends tell of his sheer determination which meant Riyad (pictured as a boy, inset), about to win the Premier League with Leicester City, overcame every barrier in his way to achieve what he has today.