Black Stars player Mohammed Kudus paid tribute to deceased Ghana international Christian Atsu after scoring his 14th goal for Ajax on Sunday in the Dutch Eredivisie.
The former Chelsea man was confirmed dead on Saturday after staying under rubble for nearly two weeks amid a devastating earthquake which struck in Turkey.
Sympathisers of the tragedy including football clubs have expressed their condolences but Kudus chose to pay his with a goal.
The 22-year-old who lasted the entire throttle of the game scored a wonderful free kick on the 84th minute mark to wrap a convincing 4-0 win over Sparta Rotterdam at the Johan Cruijff Arena.
However, he didn’t follow the goal with his usual “crossing of arms around the chest celebration. He rather lifted his shirt revealing ‘RIP Atsu’ boldly inscribed on his underwear.
His Ajax teammates who joined to celebrate his goal surrounded him with mixed emotions as well.
Kudus and Atsu may not have played together in the Black Stars, but they do have a few things in common when it comes to football.
Both players are left footed and gifted dribblers. Just like Atsu, Kudus has taken the Black Stars by storm with man of the match performances including his recent show at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Atsu’s remains is expected to arrive in Ghana on Sunday evening.