Spanish football manager, Rafael Benítez, has eulogized late Ghanaian footballer Christian Atsu who died tragically after being a victim of the deadly Turkey earthquakes.
The 31-year-old was confirmed dead on Saturday after being trapped under the rubble for 12 days in his collapsed apartment in Hatay.
Atsu, who was on the books of Chelsea and had loan stints at Bournemouth and Everton, played under Benitez between 2016 and 2019.
Benitez paid tribute to the late star during Sky Sports' coverage of Liverpool's 2-0 win at St James' Park on Saturday, with the late winger getting a minute of applause.
Benitez said: "It’s really sad because he was a nice, nice, special person. He was a good professional.
“I don’t talk about if he’s a good player or not, he was a nice lad and a good player, but especially a really nice person.
“So a special person and everybody always, you can see the pictures, always with a smile playing or not playing."