Former Chelsea captain John Terry has led player tributes to Christian Atsu following confirmation of his death in the earthquake in Turkey.
The 31-year-old man had been missing since the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck in the early hours of February 6, but one of his officers has confirmed that his body has been discovered under the rubble.
There were initially hopes that the Ghana international had been bailed out, but his club Hatayspor and his agent Nana Sechere revealed the claims were untrue.
Atsu began his Premier League career with Chelsea, before moving on to Newcastle United and Everton.
Terry, who was captaining the Blues at the time, posted ‘RIP my friend’ upon confirmation of the news.
Atsu, 31, was found dead after the devastating earthquake in Turkey more than a week ago.
Another member of the Chelsea team at the time, Michael Essien, posted ‘rest well king’.
Cesc Fabregas and Michy Batshuayi were among other former Chelsea players to offer their tributes.
Batshuayi is currently with Fenerbache in Turkey, and Atsu played for Hatayspor in the country’s top division.
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Atsu had joined Chelsea after breaking through at Portuguese giants Porto, after spending time on loan at Rio Ave.
He spent five years at Stamford Bridge but never really appeared for the first team, having spent seasons away from the club with Vitesse Arnhem, Everton, Bournemouth, Malaga and Newcastle.
Atsu moved permanently to the Magpies in 2016 and was part of their promotion-winning campaign in the 2016-17 season with Rafa Benítez.