The man who discovered the late footballer, Christian Atsu, Abdul Hayye Yartey has revealed that the first three months’ salary of the player upon joining FC Porto, was donated to a church.
This was to fulfill his promise to God during his struggle to succeed in the football fraternity.
At age 18, there was not much financial support within his family, but the player decided to give out all his wages to aid in church activities, which Mr. Abdul Hayye thinks is unusual for a person of his age to do.
In an interview on Prime Morning on Wednesday, Mr. Abdul Hayye explained that the generosity of Christian Atsu helped in the success of his career.
“When Christian was with FC Porto, he signed a loan contract to be paid €800 a month. One day, I received a message from Christian Atsu, who followed up with a call and said he had sent €800 to my account. He converted the €800 into cedis and asked me to give all the money to a church that was headed by our club president…”
Considering Christian Atsu’s action, the scout believes that about 99% of young people may not fulfill such a covenant after they have achieved their aim. By this, he believes the player was a true Christian.
The manager mentioned some of the magnanimous things the player has done for society, including building an orphanage and helping the vulnerable.
As part of Christian Atsu’s kindness, Mr. Abdul Hayye revealed how the winger helped the wife of a Ghanaian football official who was on life support.
“One of the big personnel in the FA came to me to tell me that the wife is not feeling well and that I should link him to Christian Atsu. So, I gave him Christian’s number and later. The person came back to me to say that Christian gave him GH₵300,000,” he revealed.
Before hearing the demise of the winger, he said he had a revelation about him (Christian Atsu), which made it difficult for him to believe the news.
He believes the player’s soul is at rest even though his death is untimely, because he has accomplished the majority of his mission on earth.
Meanwhile, the burial service for the late footballer will be held on Friday, March 17, at the forecourt of the State House, Accra, to bid him a final farewell.