Christian Atsu was scheduled to travel to see his family before the tragic earthquakes in Turkey, according to Fatih Ilek, the administrative manager of Hatayspor.
Following his effort that helped Hatayspor defeat Kasimpasa in the Turkish top flight, Atsu, who had planned to leave Turkey to visit his family, canceled his travel.
After going days without being located following the earthquake on February 6, the 31-year-death old’s was officially declared on February 18 after his remains were discovered.
Atsu had intended to leave Turkey, but he changed his mind after scoring the winning goal in his final match for the team, according to Ilek.
“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. Actually, he was going abroad to visit his family. But when he played well and scored, he cancelled his ticket. The earthquake happened on his happiest day. He had a flight at 11 pm. Cancelled the ticket. There was an earthquake at 4 am. Absolutely a tragedy.”
Since the confirmation of his death, tributes have been pouring in for the former Black Stars international from his former teammates, clubs as well as some of the football associations.