Marie-Claire Rupio, the partner of the late Christian Atsu, expressed her disbelief upon learning about her husband’s death six months after his tragic passing.
Atsu, who had signed with Hatayspor in Turkey last September, had left his family in Newcastle to embark on this Turkish adventure. Rupio’s last conversation with him dates back to Saturday, February 4th, as he was preparing for a match against Kasimpasa the following day. They had planned to talk again on Monday.
After scoring the added-time goal that secured victory for his Istanbul club, Atsu messaged Rupio to share the news. They didn’t know it would be their final exchange.
On the following Monday, Rupio heard about an earthquake on the radio while driving. She initially struggled to accept that such an event could occur where Atsu was located.
“I didn’t believe it could happen at a place [where] he would be,” she told the Ghanaian press. “As a human, you think it can’t happen to you or anyone you love.”
“I was like, ‘he’s fine, and he’ll call,'” she recalled. However, her perspective changed when Atsu’s sister contacted her to reveal that his building had collapsed. The news was shocking and difficult to process.
Subsequent updates added to the confusion surrounding Atsu’s situation. His club’s vice president initially stated that he had been “pulled from the wreckage with injuries” on February 7th. The next day, his agent Nana Sechere contradicted this, stating that Atsu’s whereabouts remained uncertain.
Choosing to hold onto hope, Rupio requested additional equipment to aid in clearing the debris, believing her husband was still alive. She relied on updates from the agent and Atsu’s sister, shielding their children from conflicting reports. “I didn’t really read the news,” Rupio said. “I relied on his agent, Nana, and his sister.”
While the roller coaster of news was distressing, Rupio maintained a positive attitude for the sake of her family: “Our children heard from their school that he was found, then they came home and heard on the radio again that he wasn’t found. It wasn’t nice, but I told them he might be found because you always want to believe [in] the positive outcome.”
