Christian Atsu (1992–2023) was a Ghanaian footballer who played for the Ghana national football team and several clubs including Everton, Newcastle United and Hatayspor. He was found dead after an earthquake in Turkey in 2023.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Christian Atsu Twasam aka Christian Atsu was born on Friday, 10 January 1992 (age 31 at the time of death) in Ada Foa, Greater Accra Region, Ghana. His zodiac sign was Capricorn. He was interested in playing football since childhood and played for Madina Nakwantang BA 2 Primary School in several regional tournaments. He played for Peace Boys FC and then moved to the Feyenoord Football Academy in Gomoa Fetteh, central Ghana, and later trained at the West African Football Academy in Sogakope in the Volta Region of Ghana. He then joined Kasoa-based club Cheetahs FC in late 2009.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 7″
Weight (Approx): 65 kg
Hair Color: Black
Eye colour: black
Family
parents and siblings
His father’s name was Emmanuel Twasam and mother’s name was Afiko Twasam. His father was a fisherman who died when Christian was 12 years old. His mother used to sweep the streets and sell fish to feed the family. He had 10 siblings, including his twin sister Christiana, who is a nurse.
Christian Atsu with his twin sister Christiana
wife and children
He married German-born author Marie-Claire Ruppio in 2012. The couple had two sons named Joshua and Godwin and a daughter.
Christian Atsu with his wife Marie-Claire Rupi
Christian Atsu has two sons named Joshua and Godwin and a daughter
religious viewpoint
He was a Christian who often said that his faith was one of the most important things in his life. He shared Bible verses on social media. He said in an interview that he feels lucky and blessed by God. He said,
My faith is the most important thing in my life. I know I am one of the lucky ones who has been blessed by God. I am very lucky and privileged to be in this position. I had nothing and now I have so much that I have to give something back.”
CASTEISMAND
He was from the Ada tribe on his father’s side and the Ewes tribe of Ayigbe on his mother’s side.
Signature
livelihood
international
He played his first match for the Ghana national team on 1 June 2012 against Lesotho in Ghana’s first match in a 2014 World Cup qualifier. He played in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations tournament held in South Africa in which Ghana was eliminated in the semi-finals. He played at the 2014 FIFA World Cup held in Brazil in which Ghana was eliminated in the group stage. He played at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations held in Equatorial Guinea in which Ghana lost to Ivory Coast in a penalty shootout in the final. He played at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations held in Gabon in which Ghana came fourth. He played at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations held in Egypt in which Ghana were eliminated in the round of 16.
Christian Atsu during a match for Ghana
club
fc porto
He was acquired by Portuguese club FC Porto in January 2010 after impressing with his skills during a 3-day trial. He helped FC Porto’s youth team win the FIFA Youth Championship in Zurich, Switzerland in 2011. He returned to FC Porto for the 2012–13 season and played nine matches for them that season.
Loaned to Rio Avenue
For the 2011–12 season, he was loaned to Rio Ave club of Liga Portugal, and made his debut in the league on 28 August 2011.
chelsea
Christian Atsu joined Chelsea on 1 September 2013 for £3.5 million on a five-year deal. He never played a match for Chelsea in the English Premier League (EPL) and was loaned out to various teams.
Loaned to Vitesse Arnhem
He was loaned to Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem for the 2013–14 season. He made his Eredivisie debut on 6 October 2013 against Feyenoord. The club finished sixth in the league and qualified for the playoffs.
loaned to everton
He was loaned to English club Everton on 13 August 2014 for the 2014–15 season. He played his first match in the English Premier League on 23 August 2014 against Arsenal. He emerged as an impressive player and was selected for the 2015 Europa League Round of 16. He played his final match for Everton on 19 March 2015.
Loaned to Bournemouth
He was loaned to English club Bournemouth for the 2015–16 season on 29 May 2015. He played his first match for the club on 25 August 2015 against Hartlepool United.
loaned to malaga
He was loaned to Spanish club Málaga for the 2016–17 season on 25 January 2016. He played his first match in La Liga on 5 February 2016.
Loaned to Newcastle United
He joined English club Newcastle United on 31 August 2016 on a one-year loan deal, with an option to buy in the contract. He made his debut for the club on 13 September 2016 against Queens Park Rangers.
Newcastle United
In May 2017 he signed a four-year deal with Newcastle United for £6.2 million. He was considered one of the most talented African footballers by then Newcastle manager Rafael Benítez.
Christian Atsu during a match for Newcastle United
Al-Raed
He joined Saudi club Al-Raed on 17 July 2021 for one year and played eight matches for them in the Saudi Professional League.
Hatayspor
He signed with Turkish club Hatayspor for one year with the option of a further year on 6 September 2022. He played his last match for them in the Süper Lig (Turkish League) on 5 February 2023, before his death.
Jersey number
He played for different teams with different jersey numbers. He wore jersey number 51 for the FC Porto team. He wore jersey number 20 for Rio Avenue FC. He wore jersey number 19 for Vitesse Arnhem. He wore jersey number 20 for AFC Bournemouth. He wore jersey number 11 for Málaga CF. He wore jersey number 30 for Newcastle United. He wore jersey number 3 for Al-Rad. He wore jersey number 30 for Hataspyor. He wore jersey number 7 for the Ghana national team.
Christian Atsu’s number 7 jersey for the Ghana national team
Christian Atsu’s number 30 jersey for Newcastle United
Christian Atsu with Al-Raid’s number 3 jersey
Christian Atsu’s number 11 jersey for Málaga CF
Sports injuries
He suffered several injuries during his career. In December 2014, he suffered a hamstring injury that caused him to miss 6 games and took 21 days to recover. In September 2015, he suffered a bone stress injury, which caused him to miss 9 games and required 69 days to recover. In February 2016, he suffered a muscle injury which caused him to miss 2 games and took 16 days to recover. In November 2017, he suffered a hamstring injury, causing him to miss 4 games and taking 24 days to recover. In April 2018, he suffered a knee injury that caused him to miss 6 games and required 79 days to recover. In August 2019, he suffered a hamstring injury which caused him to miss 1 game and took 12 days to recover. In February 2020, he became seriously ill due to which he missed 2 games and took 9 days to recover.
philanthropy
He actively supported various charities in Ghana and other countries where he lived during his career. In 2017, she began working as an ambassador with the charity group Arms Around the Child, raising funds for orphans and underprivileged children. He helped raise funds to build a school in Ghana and was successful in obtaining land and partially funded the construction of the school. He also worked with the CrimeCheck Foundation to help secure the release of people in prison for minor crimes. He helped secure the release of a 62-year-old woman, called Mama Theresa, who was facing a 10-year prison sentence for marijuana possession, and also funded her surgery. He paid the fine of a blind man named Peter Annin who had been sentenced to prison. In 2018, he paid the fine of 10 prisoners who were convicted of stealing food and faced the threat of jail if they did not pay the fine. He donated 80 pairs of football boots to youth players of his former club Cheetahs FC in 2021. He donated many things to the Beki Foundation, an orphanage in Senya Berekum in Ghana.
Christian Atsu donates 80 pairs of football boots to young players of Cheetahs FC
Christian Atsu with underprivileged children in Ghana during charity work for Arms Around the Child
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- Best Player of the FIFA Youth Championship 2011
- FC Porto youth players of the 2010–11 season
- Rio Avenue’s players of the 2012–13 season
- Vitesse Arnhem players of the 2013–14 season
- 2015 Africa Cup of Nations Player of the Tournament award and Goal of the Tournament award for his goal in the quarterfinals of the tournament
- Named in the team of the tournament for the 2015 and 2017 Africa Cup of Nations
- Cyrille Regis Players Award in 2018
Christian Atsu honored with the Cyrille Regis Players’ Award, which he won in 2018
net worth
His net worth was estimated at $2 million at the time of his death.
Death
He went missing during a series of earthquakes that struck Turkey on 6 February 2023. His apartment in the Ronesans Residence building in Hatay province collapsed during the earthquake. He was scheduled to fly out of Turkey a few hours before the earthquake struck; However, he decided to stay after scoring the winning goal in the match on 5 February 2023. On 7 February 2023, Mustafa Ozat, the vice president of Hataypur, said that he was rescued and hospitalized. On 8 February 2023, Hataypur’s manager Volkan Demirel said that he was still missing. On 14 February 2023, his Turkish agent Nana Sechere said that he has not been found yet and only two pairs of shoes have been found. On 18 February 2023, his agent confirmed his death at the age of 31, and his body was recovered from the debris of the building. On 19 February 2023, his body was flown from Istanbul, Turkey to Accra, Ghana for burial in his hometown.
Press release.#GhanaMFA pic.twitter.com/7WtZHmhpBg
– Ghana MFA (@GhanaMFA) 19 February 2023
Many footballers and teams around the world paid tribute to him and mourned his death. Former Ghana captain Mohammed Kudus scored a goal for his club in a match and was wearing a T-shirt under his T-shirt with a message in tribute to him.
We are deeply saddened by the news that Christian Atsu lost his life in the earthquake devastation that struck Turkey and Syria. Our thoughts and sympathies go out to Christian’s family, friends and everyone affected by this tragic incident. pic.twitter.com/GLqXdd80Xl
– Premier League (@premierleague) 18 February 2023
Facts/General Knowledge
- His childhood idol was the great Ghanaian footballer Abedi Pelé.
- His fans also called him the Messi of Africa.
- He usually played as a left winger; However, he also played as a left-back and attacking midfielder.
- He had several tattoos on his body including a football tattoo on his left leg.
Christian Atsu’s tattoos
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn