Christian Atsu is one of those footballers who manages to emerge from all of the difficulties which come from being born in a country like Ghana. In addition, he was born in one of the poorest areas and he had to fight hard to reach professional football. Therefore, he tries to help mthose most in need whenever he can.
They say that childhood marks people's lives. Everyone chooses whether to give in and resign themselves to the hand life deals them or fight to be able to acheive their dreams. Atsu belongs to the latter. And with a lot of effort, he achieved his dream of arriving at European football. And at just 19. But it all started much before that.
As 'El Financiero' remembered,Atsu is from Accra, where most Ghanaian talent comes from. On the contrary, it is also one of the areas where there is the highest amount of poor people.
A circumstance which the now Newcastle United player had to overcome. The precarious situation forced him to see frozen bags of water on the streets of the city. He got the opportunity through the West African football academy, founded by Dutch side Feyenoord, where he received educational classes.
It was a turning point in his life. He played for great teams like Porto and Chelsea, he even had the chance to play in Spain at Malaga when they were in La Liga. Then he moved to back to the Premier League and went to north-east England to join 'The Magpies'.
But Atsu does not forget where he comes from. That is why he has decided to do his bit for African society. 'Record' highlighted this in one of their publications. And the Ghanaian has done this on more than one occasion.
The thing which most stands out was what the player did to prevent a family from ending up in prison. And all for stealing corn which was not even worth one euro. Everything is magnified over there.
Atsu decided to pay the 50 euro deposit and he handed over 150 euros to an association which takes charge of helping the type of people who can end up in similar situations. Finally, he managed to free the three women.
On another occasion, the Newcastle striker paid for the surgery of a 62 year-old woman who had to serve a 10 year prison sentence. It must also not be ignored that when in 2016, he collaborated with 'Arms Around the Chile' to look for homes for tens of kids who had lost their parents. They also found food, drinking water and education for them.
The figure of Atsu is not just resumed in the mere fact of putting on his boots and going onto the pitch. It is more than that. But, when it is his turn to be the protagonist on the field, he knows very well how difficult is to get there.
Although he has not had many opportunities under Rafa Benitez at Newcastle, -he has been used more as an impact player- the Ghanaian has the opportunity to have minutes in the important game at the Emirates Stadium versus Arsenal.
credit: BeSoccer.com