A shocking new report says that Black Stars player Christian Atsu was going through the divorce process with his wife, Marie-Claire Rupio, before he died.
According to reports, Atsu and his German wife had issues with his mother-in-law.
A source claims that Marie-Claire’s decision to live with the couple with her mother caused conflict.
After Atsu filed for divorce, the couple had been fighting in court for two years.
According to a source who spoke with Ghanasoccernet.com, Atsu and Rupio were technically separated, and she did not want anything to do with the former Rio Ave and Vitesse Arnhem player.
Atsu’s marital issues began when his mother-in-law moved in with them in the UK in 2021. Because of the wife’s increased focus on the mother, Atsu felt alone in the house. According to the source, “his mother-in-law has taken control of everything in the home, and he sometimes found it difficult to play with his children.”
“His wife objected to the idea because she believed that the player didn’t want her mother to live with them, which was the beginning of their marital problems,” she said.
Because he had only two months left on his contract with Newcastle, “Atsu was fervently looking for a new club at that time.”
The report says that Atsu wanted to retire, but he decided to keep playing, going first to Saudi Arabia and then, fatefully, Turkey, due to unfinished projects and other needs.
“The wife used his absence to push for a divorce due to a long-standing disagreement before he left for Saudi Arabia.
Due to injuries and a decline in performance in Saudi Arabia, he made the decision to return to Ghana. Before that, he had plans to play for his childhood team, Hearts of Oak, even if only for a season. However, he had considered quitting his job.
“At that time, he made the decision to alter his career plans and required funds to fund numerous unfinished Ghanaian projects.
“After that, he decided to postpone his plans to don the Rainbow jersey in order to sign a lucrative new contract with a different European team.
His only option was Hatayaspor, so he decided to move to Turkey. Keep in mind that, prior to moving to Saudi Arabia, he turned down a lucrative offer from a largely unknown Turkish club out of a desire to spend his final years with Hearts of Oak.
“Atsu would have returned to Ghana and been playing in the Ghana Premier League if the divorce proceeding hadn’t started.”
