Christian Atsu Twasam (10 January 1992 – ) was a Ghanaian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who primarily played as a winger, although he was also deployed as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. Atsu began his career with

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

, also spending a season on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

Rio Ave Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Football in Portugal, Portuguese professional Association football, football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which ...

. In 2013, he was signed by

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

for £3.5 million, who subsequently loaned him to

Vitesse Arnhem Vitesse may refer to: * Vitesse Models, a diecast model car company * Vitesse (band), Dutch rock band * Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, a car * Rover 216 Vitesse, a car * Rover 3500 Vitesse, a car * Rover 800 Vitesse, a car * Triumph Vites ...

, Everton,

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

and

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

. After spending the 2016–17 season on loan at

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

, he completed a permanent

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies ...

to the club in May 2017. Following the end of his four-year contract he played for

Al Raed Al Raed Saudi Football Club ( ''Nādī ar-Rāʾid'', "Pioneer Club") is a Saudi football club based in Buraidah, and the first of its kind in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia. One of the club's notable founders is Abdulaziz Al-Aboudi. Established ...

in Saudi Arabia and

Hatayspor Hatayspor Kulübü, known as Atakaş Hatayspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional football club located in Antakya, Hatay Province. History Hatayspor was founded on 23 July 1967. In July 2020, the team achieved promotion to t ...

in Turkey, where he died in the

2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake On 6 February 2023, at 04:17 Time in Turkey, TRT (01:17 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC), a 7.8 earthquake struck southern and central Turkey and northern and western Syria. The epicenter was west–northwest of Gaziantep. The ear ...

at age 31. A full international with 65 caps from 2012 to 2019, Atsu represented

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

at the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

and four

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...

tournaments. He helped the team finish as runners-up at the

2015 Africa Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was orga ...

, in which he also won Player of the Tournament and Goal of the Tournament.

Early life

Atsu was born in

Ada Foah Ada Foah is a town on the southeast coast of Ghana, where the Volta River meets the Atlantic Ocean. The town is located along the Volta River, off of the Accra-Aflao motorway. Known for palm-lined beaches and estuary islands, Ada Foah is also th ...

, Greater Accra Region. He grew up in extreme poverty. He was one of ten siblings, including his twin sister, while his father was a fisherman and farmer on the banks of the

Volta River The Volta River is the main river system in the West African country of Ghana. It flows south into Ghana from the Bobo-Dioulasso highlands of Burkina Faso. The main parts of the river are the Black Volta, the White Volta, and the Red Volta. In ...

. Atsu spent a portion of his education at the Feyenoord Football Academy in Gomoa Fetteh, in the Central Region of Ghana and later attended the

West African Football Academy West African Football Academy (WAFA) Sporting Club is a Ghanaian professional football club based near Sogakope in the Volta Region that was founded by Feyenoord from Rotterdam. They are competing in the Ghana Premier League. The 2016–17 seaso ...

at Sogakope, in the Volta Region of Ghana. He later moved to join

Cheetah FC Cheetah Fotball Club is a Ghanaian football club based in Kasoa in the Central Region of Ghana. The club currently competes in Central Region Zone of the Division Two League which is the third tier of the football league system in Ghana, and th ...

, a club based in Kasoa.

Club career

Porto

Atsu arrived at

at the age of 17. On 14 May 2011, he was called up by first-team manager

André Villas-Boas Luís André de Pina Cabral e Villas-Boas (; born 17 October 1977) is a Portuguese football manager, who most recently was the manager of Ligue 1 club Marseille. He is one of a growing number of top-level managers who have never played football ...

for a

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

match against Marítimo, but he did not leave the bench. As with teammate

Kelvin The kelvin, symbol K, is the primary unit of temperature in the International System of Units (SI), used alongside its prefixed forms and the degree Celsius. It is named after the Belfast-born and University of Glasgow-based engineer and phys ...

, Atsu was sent on

to fellow league side

for the 2011–12 season. He made his debut in the competition on 28 August 2011, in a 0–1 home loss against

Olhanense Sporting Clube Olhanense () is a Portuguese sports club from Olhão, Algarve. Its football team was founded on 27 April 1912 and currently plays in the Campeonato de Portugal, the fourth tier of Portuguese football. It holds home matches at the ...

. On 16 December 2011, Atsu opened the score at

Estádio da Luz The Estádio da Luz (), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, its ...

against Benfica in the 24th minute, but the hosts eventually won it 5–1. He returned to Porto for the 2012–13 campaign, starting in nine of his league appearances as they won the national championship for the third consecutive time.

Chelsea

On 1 September 2013, Atsu agreed to join

on a five-year contract, for a reported £3.5 million, being immediately loaned to Dutch club

, for the rest of the 2013–14 season.

Loan to Vitesse

On 6 October 2013, Atsu made his debut against

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...

as a substitute, replacing Kazaishvili in the 77th minute. He went on to providing an assist to

Mike Havenaar is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a striker for FC Bonbonera GIFU. Early life Havenaar's parents came to Japan from the Netherlands in 1986 when his father Dido signed on to play for Hiroshima-based side Mazda FC of the Japa ...

, but it was not enough to prevent a 2–1 loss for Vitesse. On 19 October, Atsu made his first start against

SC Heerenveen Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherlands. History Sportclub Heerenveen was founded on 20 July ...

, which ended in a 3–2 win for Vitesse. On 9 November, he converted a penalty for his first goal with Vitesse, against

FC Utrecht Football Club Utrecht () is a Dutch professional football club based in Utrecht. The club competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, and plays its home matches at the Stadion Galgenwaard. The club was formed in 1970 as a merge ...

; the match ended in a 3–1 win for Vitesse. In total, Atsu played 30 games and scored 5 goals for the Dutch side as they finished 6th in the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

and qualified to the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

Loan to Everton

On 13 August 2014, Atsu joined fellow Premier League club Everton on loan until the end of the 2014–15 season. He made his first appearance for the club 10 days later, coming on as an 85th-minute substitute for

Kevin Mirallas Kevin Antonio Joel Gislain Mirallas y Castillo (born 5 October 1987), known as Kevin Mirallas (), is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Cypriot side AEL Limassol. Mirallas started his professional career in France wit ...

in a 2–2 draw with

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...

. Atsu made his first start in the league on 21 September 2014 against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building * ...

, which ended in a 2–3 home loss. After his absence due to the

, he returned to the line-up on 19 February 2015 in a Europa League match against

BSC Young Boys BSC Young Boys (YB by short abbreviation ) are a Swiss sports club based in Bern, Switzerland. Its first team has won 15 Swiss league championships and six Swiss Cups. YB is one of the most successful Swiss football clubs internationally, reac ...

, playing out the last five minutes after replacing hat-trick scorer

Romelu Lukaku Romelu Lukaku Bolingoli (; born 13 May 1993) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Inter Milan, on loan from club Chelsea, and the Belgium national team. Lukaku began his senior club career playing for Ander ...

. and came off the bench three days later to set up a late equaliser in a 2–2 draw at home to

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

. On 15 March 2015, in the match against

, he came off the bench with five minutes remaining, and provided an assist to fellow substitute

Ross Barkley Ross Barkley (born 5 December 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Nice. Barkley began his professional career at Everton in 2010. After loan spells at Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United he b ...

for Everton's third goal of a 3–0 home victory. Following Atsu's impact as a substitute in the above games, he was picked to start the second leg of a Europa League Round of 16 match away to

Dynamo Kyiv Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Union, Soviet Dynamo Sports Club, Dynamo Sports Soc ...

on 19 March with regular right-winger

Aaron Lennon Aaron Justin Lennon (; born 16 April 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger. Lennon began his career at hometown club Leeds United, making his first-team debut in 2003 and becoming the youngest player to play ...

cup-tied, with Everton leading 2–1 from the first leg. His team were eliminated after losing 5–2 on the night, he was withdrawn in the 65th minute, and that was his final first-team appearance for Everton.

Loan to Bournemouth

On 29 May 2015, Atsu was loaned to newly promoted Premier League team

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

for the upcoming season, with club Chief Executive Neill Blake calling the deal "a huge coup". He made his debut on 25 August in the second round of the League Cup, starting in a 4–0 win at

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartle ...

. Atsu's only other appearance was in the next round's victory at

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

; he did not feature in any Bournemouth matchday squad in the league and he was recalled from his loan by Chelsea on 1 January 2016.

Loan to Málaga

On 24 January 2016, Atsu gave an interview with the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

in which he spoke about leaving Chelsea and his imminent transfer to Levante. The next day, it was confirmed that he would be instead moving to

on loan. On 5 February 2016, Atsu made his debut in the starting eleven and scored in a 3–0 victory over

Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol (), or simply Getafe, is a professional football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. The team competes in La Liga, the highest tier of the Spanish football system. The club's home stadium (owned and op ...

Newcastle United

On 31 August 2016, Atsu joined

on a one-year loan deal with an option to buy clause in the contract. On 13 September, his debut for the club came on as a substitute for

Yoan Gouffran Yoan Patrick Gouffran (born 25 May 1986) is a former French professional footballer, who played as a striker or a winger and was renowned for his pace and ability to finish with either foot. Club career Gouffran was born in Villeneuve-Saint-Ge ...

in the 61st minute in a 6–0 away victory against

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

Loftus Road Loftus Road is a football stadium in White City, London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers. In 1981, it became the first stadium in British professional football to have an artificial pitch of Omniturf installed. This remained in ...

, where he provided the assist to

Aleksandar Mitrović Aleksandar Mitrović ( sr-Cyrl, Александар Митровић, (); born 16 September 1994) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Fulham and the Serbia national team. A youth product at Partizan, he tur ...

to earn their fifth goal. Atsu scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 win against

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

on 1 October, followed by further goals against

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

and

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

. In May 2017, Atsu signed a four-year deal to join Newcastle permanently for £6.2 million from Chelsea. He was released at its conclusion.

Al-Raed

On 17 July 2021, Atsu joined

Al-Raed Al Raed Saudi Football Club ( ''Nādī ar-Rāʾid'', "Pioneer Club") is a Saudi football club based in Buraidah, and the first of its kind in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia. One of the club's notable founders is Abdulaziz Al-Aboudi. Established ...

. Limited by injury, he played only eight games in the

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL for short) ( ar, دوري المحترفين السعودي, link=no, ''Dawriyy al-Muḥtarifayni as-Suʿūdī''), known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL for short) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of associat ...

Hatayspor

On 6 September 2022, Atsu signed for

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

club

on an inital one-year contract with the option for a further year. He played three league games and one in the

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası ...

, and scored the only goal at home to Kasımpaşa in the seventh minute of added time on 5 February 2023, the day before the earthquake that killed him.

International career

Atsu won his first senior

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for the Ghana national team on 1 June 2012 against

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

, scoring in the process. He was described by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

as an "excellent prospect", whilst

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

added he was "quick and technically impressive", and a potential future star for his national team. The following year, he was in the Ghanaian squad for the

2013 Africa Cup of Nations The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized ...

in South Africa. He started the first match, a 2–2 draw against the

DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, and was a substitute in the following 1–0 win over

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

. He returned to the starting line-up in the last group match against

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesPort Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

, scoring the second goal of a 3–0 win which put his country into the quarter-finals as group winners. Atsu featured in the rest of Ghana's matches as they came fourth, scoring in their

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

elimination by

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

Atsu was selected for the

squad, starting in all the matches as Ghana were eliminated in the group stage. At the

, Atsu scored twice in a 3–0 win over

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

in the quarter-finals. He helped the team to the final, where they lost in a

against the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

. At the end of the tournament, he was awarded with both the Player of the Tournament award, as well as the Goal of the Tournament award for his strike against Guinea. Atsu was also named in the Team of the Tournament for the

2017 Africa Cup of Nations The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2017 or CAN 2017), known as the Total 2017 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 31st edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's football champions ...

in Gabon, where Ghana came fourth. He was called up for the 2019 edition in Egypt.

Personal life

Atsu was a devout Christian who shared Bible verses on social media. Described by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' obituary writer Louise Taylor as "a true Christian in every sense of the word", he was active in charity, being an ambassador for Arms Around the Child, an organisation supporting disadvantaged children; he also paid thousands of pounds of bail money to free Ghanaians who had been jailed for stealing food. Atsu was married to author Marie-Claire Rupio with whom he had two sons and a daughter.

Death

On 6 February 2023, Atsu went missing in the immediate aftermath of the

; he was feared to be among those trapped under the rubble of

's headquarters in

Antakya Antakya (), historically known as Antioch ( el, Ἀντιόχεια; hy, Անտիոք, Andiok), is the capital of Hatay Province, the southernmost province of Turkey. The city is located in a well-watered and fertile valley on the Orontes Rive ...

following the quake. Atsu had been scheduled to fly out of southern Turkey hours before the quake, but Hatayspor's manager said he stayed with the club after scoring the winning goal in a 5 February match. On 7 February, club vice-president Mustafa Özat said Atsu had been rescued and was recovering in hospital, while on 8 February manager

Volkan Demirel Volkan Demirel (; born 27 October 1981) is a Turkish coach, pundit and former professional footballer. He is the manager of the Turkish club Hatayspor. For many years, he was the starting goalkeeper of Fenerbahçe and the Turkish national team. ...

said that Atsu and sporting director Taner Savut were still missing. On 14 February, Atsu's agent confirmed two pairs of his shoes had been found, but that Atsu himself had still not been found. On 18 February, confirmation was received by his agent that his body was recovered from the rubble of the building he was residing in. News outlets reported his death at approximately 6 a.m. GMT. Atsu's former club Newcastle United paid tribute to him at their game against Liverpool on 18 February. Prior to the start of the game, a minute of applause was held before the start of the game. Atsu's widow and their children were in attendance. The tribute was also made at other Premier League games that occurred over the weekend. The

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

's Twitter account tweeted: His body was flown from Turkey to his family in Ghana on 20 February.

Vice President of Ghana The vice-president of Ghana is the second-highest officer in the Government of Ghana. The vice-president, together with the President of Ghana, is directly elected by the people through popular vote to serve a four-year term in office. The vice- ...

Mahamudu Bawumia Mahamudu Bawumia (born 7 October 1963) is a Ghanaian economist and former central banker who serves as the 5th Vice President of Ghana in the 4th Ghanaian Republic. He assumed office on 7 January 2017 as Vice President of Ghana. Bawumia was a ...

spoke at his funeral, and a military procession was held in his honor. A one-week observation was made in honour of Christian Atsu on Saturday, 4th March, 2023 at the Adjiringanor AstroTurf in

Accra, Ghana Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Ghana's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Atsu goal''. Some sources credit Atsu with scoring a goal against

on 16 June 2013, but FIFA credited it to

John Boye John Boye (born 23 April 1987) is a Ghana national football team, Ghanaian professional association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender. Club career Early career Born in Accra, Boye began his career w ...

Honours

Porto Youth *

Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup is an international association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball aro ...

: 2011 Porto *

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese football match played since 1979 between the winners of the Portuguese League (Primeira Liga) and Portuguese ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Newcastle United *

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

: 2016–17 Ghana *

runner-up:

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Individual *

Golden Ball: 2011 * Vitesse Player of the Year: 2013–14 * Africa Cup of Nations Player of the Tournament:

* Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

* Africa Cup of Nations Goal of the Tournament:

* Dragão de Ouro – Young Athlete of the Year: 2011 * Cyrille Regis Players Award: 2018

References

External links

*
Christian Atsu
at ''

Voetbal International ''Voetbal International'' (VI) is a Dutch football magazine. It is the oldest Dutch football magazine that is still running. History and Profile ''Voetbal International'' was established in 1965. VI was one of the founding members of ESM but l ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Atsu, Christian 1992 births 2023 deaths 2013 Africa Cup of Nations players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players 2017 Africa Cup of Nations players 2019 Africa Cup of Nations players Al-Raed FC players Association football wingers Ghanaian footballers Cheetah F.C. players FC Porto players Rio Ave F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players SBV Vitesse players Everton F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Málaga CF players Newcastle United F.C. players Hatayspor footballers Primeira Liga players Eredivisie players Premier League players English Football League players La Liga players Saudi Professional League players Süper Lig players Ghana international footballers Ghanaian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate footballers in Turkey Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in England Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Ghanaian Christians People from Greater Accra Region Victims of the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes