Background and career
Christian Atsu Twasam (10 January 1992 – 6 February 2023) was a Ghanaian professional footballer who primarily played as a winger, although he was deployed as an attacking midfielder or left back. Atsu began his career with Porto, also spending a season on loan at Rio Ave. In 2013, he was signed by Chelsea for £3.5 million, who subsequently loaned him to Vitesse, Everton, Bournemouth and Málaga. After spending the 2016–17 season on loan at Newcastle United, he completed a permanent transfer to the club in May 2017. Following the end of his four-year contract, he played for Al Raed in Saudi Arabia and Hatayspor in Turkey, where he died in the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake at age 31. A full international with 65 caps from 2012 to 2019, Atsu represented Ghana at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and four Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. He helped the team finish as runners-up at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, in which he also won Player of the Tournament and Goal of the Tournament.
Atsu was born in Ada Foah, Greater Accra Region. He grew up in extreme poverty. He was one of ten siblings, including his twin sister, while his father was a fisherman and farmer on the banks of the Volta River. Atsu spent a portion of his education at the Feyenoord Football Academy in Gomoa Fetteh, in the Central Region of Ghana and later attended the West African Football Academy at Sogakope, in the Volta Region of Ghana. He later moved to join Cheetah, a club based in Kasoa.
Atsu arrived at Porto at the age of 17. On 14 May 2011, he was called up by first-team manager André Villas-Boas for a Primeira Liga match against Marítimo, but he did not leave the bench. As with teammate Kelvin, Atsu was sent on loan to fellow league side Rio Ave for the 2011–12 season. He made his debut in the competition on 28 August 2011, in a 0–1 home loss against Olhanense. On 16 December 2011, Atsu opened the score at Estádio da Luz against Benfica in the 24th minute, but the hosts eventually won it 5–1. He returned to Porto for the 2012–13 campaign, starting in nine of his league appearances as they won the national championship for the third consecutive time.
On 1 September 2013, Atsu agreed to join Chelsea on a five-year contract, for a reported £3.5 million, being immediately loaned to Dutch club Vitesse, for the rest of the 2013–14 season.
On 6 October 2013, Atsu made his debut against Feyenoord as a substitute, replacing Kazaishvili in the 77th minute. He went on to provide an assist to Mike Havenaar, but it was not enough to prevent a 2–1 loss for Vitesse. On 19 October, Atsu made his first start against Heerenveen, which ended in a 3–2 win for Vitesse. On 9 November, he converted a penalty for his first goal with Vitesse, against Utrecht; the match ended in a 3–1 win for Vitesse. In total, Atsu played 30 games and scored 5 goals for the Dutch side as they finished 6th in the league and qualified to the playoffs.
On 13 August 2014, Atsu joined fellow Premier League club Everton on loan until the end of the 2014–15 season. He made his first appearance for the club ten days later, coming on as an 85th-minute substitute for Kevin Mirallas in a 2–2 draw with Arsenal at Goodison Park. Atsu made his first start in the league on 21 September 2014 against Crystal Palace, which ended in a 2–3 home loss. After his absence due to the Africa Cup of Nations, he returned to the line-up on 19 February 2015 in a Europa League match against Young Boys, playing out the last five minutes after replacing hat-trick scorer Romelu Lukaku. and came off the bench three days later to set up a late equaliser in a 2–2 draw at home to Leicester City. On 15 March 2015, in the match against Newcastle United, he came off the bench with five minutes remaining, and provided an assist to fellow substitute Ross Barkley for Everton's third goal of a 3–0 home victory. Following Atsu's impact as a substitute in the above games, he was picked to start the second leg of a Europa League Round of 16 match away to Dynamo Kyiv on 19 March with regular right-winger Aaron Lennon cup-tied, with Everton leading 2–1 from the first leg. His team were eliminated after losing 5–2 on the night, he was withdrawn in the 65th minute, and that was his final first-team appearance for Everton.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
