#ChristianAtsuGoesHome: His Good Deeds Touched Countless Lives Beyond Football

The former Ghanaian winger, Christian Atsu whose body was discovered in Turkey’s earthquake-damaged rubble, was a true Christian in every sense of the word.

Along his journey from West Africa to Western Europe and, ultimately, the Middle East, Atsu’s extensive charitable work and numerous good deeds affected countless lives, changing many for the better.

It quickly became apparent in a 2019 interview with the Guardian that a man whose upbringing had been influenced by a strong Christian faith was on a mission to use his wealth and status as a Premier League football player to help others.

The former Newcastle player, who was playing for Turkey’s Hatayspor at the time of his death at age 31, declared that “my faith is the most important thing in my life.” “I’m aware that God has blessed me as one of the fortunate ones. I’m extremely fortunate and grateful to be in this position. I had nothing before, but now that I have so much, I feel compelled to give back.

Atsu was a modest individual who took great pride in the accomplishments of his German-born author wife, Marie-Claire Rupio, but he also knew that becoming a household name from Cairo to Cape Town as a result of winning the player of the tournament award at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea.

He dutifully used the fame that briefly promised to make him Africa’s Lionel Messi to serve as a key ambassador for the international nonprofit organization Arms Around the Child.

For children who have been orphaned, abused, affected by HIV/AIDS, trafficked, sold, or live in households where a child is in charge, it offers housing, protection, education, and support.

Atsu said, “I give frequently so they can buy food and stuff. In Ghana, we’re constructing a school. There will be about 300 kids there, and I want everyone to have the chance to go to school. He realized how important education is after benefiting from the top-notch instruction provided by Feyenoord’s African academy in Accra. Atsu’s life was nevertheless also fueled by love.

There was the love he had first encountered as one of ten siblings – including his twin sister Christiana, now a nurse – growing up on the junction of the Volta River and the Atlantic Ocean where his late father eked out a living fishing and farming – and the love he had experienced after meeting Rupio, the mother of his daughter and two sons, early in his career while playing for Porto.

He was able to make it through his time in Chelsea’s “have boots will travel” loan army thanks to those enduring relationships. Atsu was loaned to Vitesse Arnhem, Everton, Bournemouth (where he played for the current Newcastle manager Eddie Howe), and Malaga despite never appearing in a match for the London club. He then signed “permanently” for Rafael Benitez during the Spaniard’s time at St James’ Park.

He said, “Rafa’s like a father.” “Everyone in this place likes Rafa. He gives me almost daily encouragement. He is incredibly skilled in managing people, which is crucial.

Atsu would play for Newcastle for five years, and he still resides in the city he fell in love with with his wife, who wrote the well-liked book “Stop Bullying Me,” and their children. The winger said, “I don’t regret going to Chelsea,” in 2019. It was an honor to play for them, and eventually, it brought me to Newcastle.

Bentez was a known admirer of Atsu’s left-footed abilities, which helped him earn 65 Ghanaian caps and score nine goals for his country, as well as, most importantly, of the man himself. Atsu’s playing time was nevertheless reduced after the Spaniard left St James’ Park, which ultimately resulted in a move to Al Raed in Saudi Arabia in 2021 that was marred by injuries.

A year later, Hatayspor from Antakya came calling, and on February 5th, Atsu scored his first goal for the team. A few days later, when southern Turkey was devastated by the earthquake, his building was reduced to rubble, just hours after he had been talking happily to his family back home in Newcastle.

Atsu had been, as usual, busy making sure that several poor families in Ghana were reunited after paying thousands of pounds in fines to release prisoners charged with minor offenses. This had happened nearly exactly four years earlier.

The 62-year-old grandmother and her daughter were imprisoned for stealing the equivalent of one British pound’s worth of corn to feed their family, and he said he was especially happy to have, covertly, secured their release.

Similarly, unobtrusive was Atsu’s regular attendance in the Hillsong Church congregation in Newcastle, located on Westgate Road and a long field goal from St James’ Park. I’m very content at Hillsong and in Newcastle, he declared.

“Football completely transformed my life and gave me the opportunity to support both my family and my community. What has happened to me occasionally seems like a miracle. What is it that they mean when they say that only the good die young?

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