The wife and children of late Black Stars winger Christian Atsu have touched down at the Kotoka International Airport ahead of his funeral.

Marie-Claire Rupio and his three children are in Ghana to bid their final farewell to their beloved father and husband who died last month in Turkey.

The Ghanaian winger was married to the Portuguese for more than a decade and they have been blessed with three children.

Christian Atsu will be laid to rest on Friday, 17th March 2023 at his hometown of Dogobome in the Greater Accra Region before a funeral will be held at the Forecourt of the Statehouse in Accra same day.

The mortal remains of the late footballer will be displayed for his family, friends, and loved ones to file pass it by 6:30 am on Friday, 17th March 2023 with members of the public advised to wear a black attire

There will be a thanksgiving service at the Forecourt of the State House on the same day as the burial.

On Sunday, March 19, 2023, the Twasam family will hold a family gathering at their family house in Ogobjo.


Christian Atsu was found dead under the earthquake rubble in Hatay - Turkey after days of searching for him on Saturday, February 18.

The Hatayspor winger had been missing for 12 days since the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and some parts of Syria on February 6.

Atsu's body was flown into Ghana on the evening of Sunday 19th February and was received by a government delegation which was led by the Vice President of Ghana Dr. Bawumia and Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah and his family members.

Atsu began his European adventure at FC Porto but was quickly loaned to Rio Ave before returning to his parent club a year later.

At the tender age of 17 years, the Ghanaian winger joined Portuguese side FC Porto in 2011 but was sent out on loan at Rio Ave for the 2011/2012 season where he scored six goals in 30 appearances.

He made a return to parent club FC Porto the following season where he scored once in 29 matches for Porto before leaving to join English Premier League against Chelsea in 2013 on a five-year contract.

At Chelsea, he went on several loan spells and never played any competitive game for the club with his first being a very successful spell at Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem where he scored five goals in 30 matches and was named the Player of the season for the Dutch side.

Atsu had loan spells at Everton, Bournemouth, and Newcastle from Chelsea before sealing a permanent move to Newcastle United in the 2016/17 season as he helped the club secure promotion back to the English Premier League.

At the Magpies, he spent four seasons there before leaving as a free agent in the 2020/21 season to join Saudi side Al Raed.

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