Atsu, ex-Chelsea player, found dead after earthquake in Turkey – 02/18/2023 – Sports

The Ghanaian soccer player Christian Atsu, 31, striker for the Turkish club Hatayspor and former player of Málaga (ESP) and Chelsea (ING), was found dead under the rubble of the building where he lived in Hatay, which collapsed on 6 February. The building collapsed during the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that left thousands dead in Turkey.

The Ghana federation even claimed, shortly after the tremor, that the player had been found alive. But the information later turned out to be incorrect.

“Atsu’s lifeless body was found under the rubble. They are still unpacking his things. His phone number was also found,” his agent in Turkey, Murat Uzunmehmet, was quoted as saying by the Turkish private agency DHA. There were two weeks of searching for the player. 31 years.

“It is with a heavy heart that I must announce to all […] that Christian Atsu’s body was found this morning,” Nana Sechere, Atsu’s agent in Ghana, said on Twitter.

“My sincere condolences go out to his family and those close to him. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their prayers and support,” he added.

According to Turkish media, the former Chelsea player was under the rubble of the Rönesans’ residence, a 12-storey tower that collapsed in the earthquake.

“The Ghanaian embassy in Turkey, which conveyed the sad news, indicates that the body was found this morning,” the Ghanaian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

“Christian Atsu’s older brother and twin sister, as well as an embassy attaché, were present at the scene when the body was recovered,” the statement said.

A tough race in Europe

The Ghanaian Embassy in Turkey and the Ghana Football Federation initially claimed that the striker had been found alive, but this information turned out to be false.

The person responsible for the ruined luxury residence, in which 800 people are said to have been buried in the tragedy, was arrested last week while trying to leave Turkey.

The earthquake, followed by strong aftershocks, killed more than 40,000 people, according to the latest official reports released on Friday (17).

Atsu had arrived in September at the club Hatayspor, based in Hatay province, close to the epicenter of the violent earthquake.

The athlete took the first steps in his career in Ghana, at an academy of the Dutch club Feyenoord, and arrived in Europe in 2011. At the age of 17, in Porto, he quickly seduced some of the best teams on the continent.

In 2013, he signed with Chelsea, but did not play any official matches for the London club, who immediately loaned him to Vitesse Arnhem, from the Netherlands.

Atsu was subsequently loaned to Everton (ING) and Bournemouth (ING), where he did not convince, and spent the 2015/16 season at Malaga.

African Cup Best Player

In 2016, he was loaned to Newcastle (ING), having been transferred permanently the following year for almost 8 million euros, but only scored three goals in four seasons for the club before moving to Al Raed, from Saudi Arabia, and then to Hatayspor.

Several of his former clubs, such as Porto, Chelsea and Newcastle, paid tribute to him on Saturday through statements.

Atsu was more successful with the Ghana national team, in which he played four editions of the Africa Cup of Nations.

He started in the 2015 final against Côte d’Ivoire but was substituted shortly before Ghana lost on penalties.

Named the best player of the tournament in 2015, Atsu was included in the ideal eleven of the championship in 2017.

He also traveled to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where the Black Stars were knocked out in the group stage.

Christian Atsu leaves a widow and three fatherless children.