Christian Atsu was scheduled to travel to see his family on the eve of the deadly earthquakes in Turkey, but the winger canceled the flight, according to Fatih Ilek, the administrative manager of Hatayspor.
“Christian Atsu told the coach that he wanted to take more time before our match with Gaziantep FK. ‘Can I leave if I find a team?’ he said. Volkan Demirel also accepted this request,” he told Radyospor.
“He didn’t play against Gaziantep FK but scored a last-minute goal in the Kasımpasa match. He was going abroad to visit his family. But when he played well and scored, he canceled his ticket. The earthquake happened on his happiest day. He had a flight at 11 pm. Canceled the ticket. There was an earthquake at 4 am. Absolutely a tragedy,”
Ghanaians have taken to social media to pay tribute to Atsu, who played 65 matches between 2012 and 2019, including an outstanding performance at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, where he was named player of the tournament.
Atsu played for various European clubs, such as Chelsea, FC Porto, Newcastle United, Everton, and Bournemouth.
Atsu joined Hatayaspor in September of last year, and just hours before the natural disaster that claimed over 45,000 lives, he scored his first goal for the club on Sunday, February 5.
His body is scheduled to be flown back home with assistance from Ghana's Embassy in Turkey and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.