February 20 – Christian Atsu, the former Ghana international forward who played for Premier League clubs Chelsea and Newcastle, has tragically died in the huge earthquake in southern Turkey.
Search teams recovered the 31-year-old’s body in the ruins of a luxury 12-story building where he had been living in the city of Antakya, his current club, Hatayspor, confirmed.
Atsu had been scheduled to fly out of the area hours before the quake but Hatayspor’s manager said he had opted to stay on after scoring the winning goal in a February 5 Super Lig match. Atsu had been missing since the following day.
Initially there were reports that Atsu had been rescued but Hatayspor, after announcing that it had received information that Atsu was alive and on his way to the hospital, said later that the reports of a successful rescue were, heartbreakingly, mistaken.
The Ghanaian foreign ministry said Atsu’s elder brother and twin sister were both at the site when his body was recovered. It has since been returned to his native Ghana.
“We will not forget you, Atsu. Peace be upon you, beautiful person. There are no words to describe our sadness,” Hatayspor, who Atsu joined in September last year, said on Twitter.
Newcastle and Chelsea also paid tribute. “A talented player and a special person, he will always be fondly remembered by our players, staff and supporters,” said a Newcastle statement while Chelsea said the club “sends our heartfelt condolences to Christian’s family and friends and to all those affected by the earthquake tragedy.”
Atsu won 65 caps for Ghana and helped them to reach the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations final, where they lost to Ivory Coast on penalties. He was last selected to play for his country in 2019.
Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo posted a photo of Atsu on his official Twitter account and wrote: “Ghana football has lost one of its finest personnel and ambassadors, one who will be difficult to replace. He’ll be sorely missed.”
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