'I still can’t believe it - Partey mourns Atsu

Black Stars midfielder Thomas Partey has reacted to the death of former national team mate Christian Atsu.

The death of Atsu was confirmed on Fbruary 18 after a 12-day search of rubble resulting from the February 12 earthquake that struck southern Turkey and parts of Syria.

"It’s difficult to accept you are gone, my friend. I still can’t believe it. Christian, this is a hard pill to swallow. May God grant you a better place, my friend," Partey wrote in a Facebook post hours after the death was confirmed.

He becomes the latest teammate to condole with the family of Atsu after current skipper Andre Dede Ayew, former captain Asamoah Gyan, Mubarak Wakaso, Michael Essien and Stephen Appiah.

Atsu's death was confirmed by his manager Nana Sechere who was himself in Turkey to help with the rescue efforts as well as his club side Hatayspor.



About Christian Atsu

Christian Atsu was born in Ada Foah in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana on January 10, 1992.

In an earlier interview with Goal.com Christian Atsu revealed that money was hard to come by while growing up. He once said that losing his father in tragic circumstances made life even more difficult for his family.

Atsu in 2013, made it big when Chelsea came calling after he was identified as a long-term prospect.

Chelsea paid £3.5 million to FC Porto and signed Christian Atsu, who was subsequently loaned to Vitesse Arnhem, Everton, AFC Bournemouth, and Málaga.

Atsu after signing for Chelsea started enjoying the football money and at Newcastle, he was reportedly earning £32,000 weekly and which made him one of the richest Ghanaian footballers from 2016.

In September 2022, Christian Atsu joined Hatayspor as a free agent and reported taking close to $500,000 as a signing-on bonus.