Ex-Newcastle and Colombia striker Faustino Asprilla has been forced out of his home after he was threatened by masked gunmen.

The incident occurred at his home in Tulua, Colombia.

"They told me to contact their chief because if I didn't they would kill my family and me," said Asprilla of the incident, confirming that he had left his property.

"My family was threatened in my presence, my father, my sisters."

Asprilla played for Newcastle between 1996 and 1998, scoring a famous Champions League hat-trick against Barcelona in 1997.

The former Colombia international, who retired in 2004, also had a successful spell at Parma in the 1990s.

He was arrested in 2008 for allegedly spraying a security checkpoint with machine gun bullets. 

The 45-year-old launched a condom range earlier this year.