A tweet in Turkish interpreted by Google says Ghanaian footballer who plies his trade in Turkey, Christian Atsu lost his life in the recent quake that struck Turkiye and Syria.
The fate of Atsu was uncertain as no word was heard from the player even though spéculations had pointed to the fact that he survived the disaster.
If the tweet in Turkish language is anything to go by, then the football fraternity in Ghana and beyond is struck by tragedy in one of its most extreme forms. Christian Atsu played for Turkish football club Hayatspor and resided on ninth floor of an apartment building in southern Turkiye, hard-hit by the earthquake which has so far claimed more than 50,000 lives.
Christian Atsu was discovered by former Black Stars coach, James Kwasi Appiah in 2012. He emerged as the answer to a lacking ingredient in the team, with his fluid attacking play that gave the team momentum. He helped Ghana to the grand finals of 2015 African Cup of Nations which Ghana lost on penalties to the Ivory coast.
Ghanaians are still nursing hope that the footballer may be found alive despite the disheartening tweet.
