"He Helped Everyone": Hatayspor Manager Opens Up on Final Meeting With Atsu Before Tragic Death

• Hatayspor manager Volkan Demiral has opened up on his final moments with Christian Atsu
• The former Ghana international died following the earthquake which hit Turkey in February
• Atsu has been laid to rest in his native town Ada, Ghana

Hatayspor manager Volkan Demiral is yet to come to terms with the passing away of Ghanaian winger Christian Atsu.

The former Ghana international tragically died following the devastating earthquake which hit the city of Hatay, Turkey, on February 6, 2023.

Six other members of Hatayspor also lost their lives to the disaster which left over 40,000 people dead.

Three months after the death of Atsu, Demiral sadly opened up, describing the late footballer as a man with a 'big heart'.

"For two months he’d not played because of injury but in the week building up to the game he came to my office and said that he was ready to play. I told him that’s good, but he wasn’t ready to start. In the last 10 minutes, we decided to put him on," Demirel told The Athletic.

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“In the last minute, we got a free-kick and I was telling him to cross it, but he told his team-mates he was going to shoot, and he scored a beautiful free-kick."

Demiral also revealed how Atsu was easy going and made friends with everyone at the club.

“I was so happy for him because he’d been out for a while. He was a good player, but most importantly a good man, a good character, he helped everyone, he would always give money to staff. He had a very big heart," he continued.

“After the match, he said to me, ‘I want to keep playing’. The last time I saw him he was happy and then he was gone.”

Moments before the disaster, Atsu had scored the winner against Kasimpasa in the Turkish Super Lig, as reported by GHANASoccernet.

Danilo pays tribute to Atsu

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Juventus and Brazilian defender, Danilo has paid an emotional tribute to Ghana winger, Christian Atsu, who passed away following the Turkey-Syria earthquake.

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Danilo and Atsu were teammates at Portuguese giants, FC Porto, breaking into the senior team in the same year.

Atsu sadly died after being trapped under rubble for 12 days, following the devastating disaster which claimed the lives of over 40,000 people in Turkey and Syria.