An outpouring of condolences from all corners of the world has flooded social media in response to the heart wrenching demise of Hatayspor’s Christian Atsu, who lost his life in the catastrophic "disaster of the century" dubbed earthquake, which shook Southeastern Türkiye on Feb. 6, claiming thousands of lives and causing massive destruction.
It had been days of intense speculation and anxious anticipation as the whereabouts of the Ghanaian remained shrouded in mystery, leaving his family, friends, and the football world to cling to nothing but hope.
Hatayspor on Saturday officially ended all the conjecture regarding the forward’s mysterious vanishing, confirming the tragedy that his lifeless body had been discovered beneath the rubble of the collapsed Rönesans Residence, where he had been living.
Since then, the internet has been flooded with condolences and heartfelt messages for the late footballer who inspired many lives.
Hatayspor
The Ghanaian’s former and last club Hatayspor posted an emotional message and pictures of him on their Twitter account, which read: "Sorry for our loss. The funeral of our football player Christian Atsu, who lost his life under the rubble, is on its way to his native home, Ghana. We will never forget you, Atsu. Peace be upon you, beautiful person. There are no words to describe our sadness. Rest in peace."
His former coach, Volkan Demirel, also took to social media, saying: "I cannot put the description of my pain into words. The pain will never end. You will always be remembered with great love and respect. Peace be upon you, beautiful person. Condolences to all of us, to all of our fans,"
Trabzonspor
The Black Sea Storm also followed suit on their social media account, saying: "We have learned with deep sadness that Christian Atsu, football player of Atakaş Hatayspor, lost his life due to the earthquake disaster. Our condolences to Christian Atsu’s family, relatives, fans, and the Atakaş Hatayspor community."
Beşiktaş
The Eagles posted a picture with the text "we will never forget you, Christian Atsu," and captioned the photo saying: "We lost Christian, you will always be in our hearts Christian Atsu. Our condolences to Christian Atsu’s family, relatives, fans, and Hatayspor community."
Galatasaray
The Lions also took to social media, saying: "We are sad to learn that Atakaş Hatayspor football player Christian Atsu lost his life in the earthquake that stifled our country. Our condolences to Christian Atsu’s family, fans, and Hatayspor community."
Fenerbahçe
The Yellow Canaries sympathized with Atsu’s death, saying, "Condolences to every one of us. We are saddened to learn of the death of Atakaş Hatayspor player Christian Atsu. The Almighty’s mercy to Christian Atsu; Our condolences to his family, fans, and Hatayspor community."
Romelu Lukaku
The Belgian, who played for Serie A’s Inter Milan and donned Everton’s blue colors with the late Atsu, said: "This one is hard to take. It was amazing to be around you. Your humbleness and love for God. The way how you worked in training. The love you had for your family and kids. May God give all the strength to your kids and family. God bless your soul. Love you always."
Everton’s tribute message on social media read: "We are deeply saddened by today’s news that Christian Atsu has been found dead following the earthquake in Türkiye earlier this month. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, colleagues at Hatayspor_FK, and everyone affected by this tragic event that has claimed many lives."
Terry leads tributes
Following confirmation of Atsu’s death on Saturday, John Terry led tributes to the former Chelsea winger, with whom he shared the dressing room during the Ghanaian’s four-year spell in London.
"RIP my friend," the former England captain wrote on Twitter, alongside an image of Atsu.
Atsu’s former clubs also expressed their condolences on Saturday, with Chelsea saying his death caused "enormous sadness" and Newcastle calling him: "A talented player and a special person, he will always be fondly remembered by our players, staff and supporters."
On their Twitter account, Chelsea said, "Everyone at Chelsea Football Club is devastated to learn of the tragic passing of our former player, Christian Atsu. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends."
Other former teammates paid tribute on Instagram, with Cesc Fabregas calling his death "heartbreaking" and Michael Essien saying: "Rest well, king."
Atsu’s former team, Chelsea, commemorated their former football player Atsu before their league game against Southampton.
The FIFA World Cup, social media pages had a picture of Christian Atsu wearing the Black Stars’ No. 7 jersey with the message read, "Rest in peace, Christian."
Tribute at Newcastle
Atsu’s other club, Newcastle, paid an emotional tribute as his tearful wife and children joined a minute’s applause for the former Ghana midfielder after his heartbreaking death.
His wife Marie-Claire Rupio and his three children were in the stands at St James’ Park on Saturday to join the tribute to the Ghanian before Newcastle’s Premier League match against Liverpool.
With Atsu’s face displayed on the video scoreboard and fans chanting, "you’ll never walk alone," Rupio wiped away tears during a moving minute’s applause from the 52,000 capacity crowd as one fan held up a Newcastle shirt bearing the star’s name.
Atsu spent four years with Newcastle from 2017 to 2021 and had spells with Premier League clubs Chelsea and Porto, where he met his wife in Portugal in 2012.
Newcastle forward Allan Saint-Maximin paid tribute to his former team-mate, saying: I’m not going to lie, I’d never seen a guy like that before when I arrived at Newcastle.
"Even if we played the same position, he always gave me advice. He was lovely, always joking and smiling when he played or didn’t play.
"He was great, so it’s sad for me."
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe added: "We’re treating it as the tragedy that it is, giving him our thoughts and prayers and his family as well. We want to support them at this moment."
The Magpies had taken to their social media account earlier, saying, "We are profoundly saddened to learn that Christian Atsu has tragically lost his life in Turkey’s devastating earthquakes. A talented player and a special person, he will always be fondly remembered by our players, staff and supporters. Rest in peace, Christian."
One of the most heartbreaking tributes was from ToonArmy, an account affiliated with Newcastle which posted Atsu’s last goal in the Turkish Cup match with the caption, "Christian Atsu’s final moment as a footballer, scoring a free-kick in the last minute to win the game for Hatayspor, just hours before the earthquake struck. Life is so short and unexpected; treasure every moment. RIP Christian Atsu."
Porto and Rio Ave
Before Porto’s 1-0 win against Rio Ave, an emotional and heartfelt tribute for the late Atsu was held, as it was a bittersweet coincidence that these were his former teams.
Before the match at the Dragao Stadium, the players of the two teams came out with Atsu’s jerseys, accompanied by the raucous cheers of the passionate fans.
Final voyage
Atsu’s remains were being flown to his native home, Ghana, on Sunday, the country’s foreign ministry said.
"The remains will be accompanied by his family and Ghana’s ambassador to Türkiye on a Turkish airlines flight and will arrive in Accra (Ghana’s capital) at 7:40 p.m. Sunday," the foreign ministry said.
On Saturday, the ministry said that Atsu’s older brother and twin sister were present at the site of the rescue when his body was recovered.
He previously played for his national team, the Black Stars, and Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo said, "football has lost one of its finest ambassadors, one who will be difficult to replace."
Christian Atsu’s home nation Ghana Football Association also posted their condolence message saying, "The Ghana Football Association has received the sad news of the recovery of the body of Christian Atsu from the rubble following the earthquake that struck Southern and Central Turkey on Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. May his Soul Rest in Peace!"