Papiss Cisse Misses Newcastle Trip Over Religious Beliefs - Agent

English Premier League club Newcastle United and striker Papiss Cisse are at odds over the club's sponsorship deal with a finance company, according to the player's agent.

Cisse, who terrorized opposition defenses when he moved to soccer's Premier League last year, hasn't been included in Newcastle's squad for a pre-season tour of Portugal, the team from Northeast England revealed on its website

A Muslim, Cisse doesn't want to don Newcastle's jersey -- according to his agent -- because the sponsor is Wonga, which, as stated on its website, lends money with an annual interest rate of more than 5,800 percent.

"He feels that it is immoral....," the Senegal international's agent Madou Diene told CNN, outlining his interpretation of the striker's position.

Earlier this month UK consumer watchdog revealed a million families a month needed short-term high interest loans to get by.

Of those, 400,000 used the cash to pay for essentials such as food and fuel, while a further 240,000 needed money to pay off existing debts.

Newcastle, which did not return calls from CNN seeking comment, has yet to explain why Cisse did not travel with the squad to Portugal.