Christian Atsu Twasam, a Ghanaian professional football player, played as a winger most of the time but could also be used as an attacking midfielder or left back (10 January 1992 – 6 February 2023; declared deceased on 18 February).
Atsu started his professional career with Porto and also spent a year on loan at Rio Ave. He was acquired by Chelsea for £3.5 million in 2013, and after that, the club loaned him to Vitesse Arnhem, Everton, AFC Bournemouth, and Málaga.
Ada Foah, in the Greater Accra Region, is where Atsu was born. He lived in abject poverty as a child. He received 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 in Sogakope, in the Volta Region of Ghana.
Atsu was a devoted Christian who frequently posted Scripture on his social media accounts. He was involved in charitable work and served as an ambassador for the charity Arms Around the Child, which aids underprivileged children. He also contributed significantly to the release of Ghanaians who had been imprisoned for food theft by posting hundreds of pounds of bail.
His father worked as a farmer and fisherman on the banks of the Volta River, Atsu and his twin sister were among the a10 children of their parents.
Atsu went missing on February 6, 2023, after the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria in 2023. Hours prior to the earthquake, Atsu was supposed to leave southern Turkey, but according to Hatayspor’s manager, he stayed with the team after scoring the game-winning goal on February 5.
Atsu and sporting director Taner Savut were still missing, according to manager Volkan Demirel, who made the statement on February 8. Atsu’s representative announced on February 14 that two of his shoes had been discovered but that Atsu had yet to be located.
On February 18, his agent received word that his body had been found in the ruins of the structure he was living in. By six in the morning GMT, news sources reported his passing.
Atsu was happily married to Marie-Claire Rupio, a novelist, whom he also had two sons and a daughter with.
