‘I am the last person Atsu spoke with’ – Kevin Soni

In a recent interview accorded footmercato, Cameroonian international and Christian Atsu’s Hatayspor club-mate Kevin Soni uttered that he was probably the last person to converse with the former Black Stars wingman.

According to Soni, he spoke with Atsu two hours before the incident. “Before what happened, I spoke with Christian Atsu on phone. He had scored a free kick on Sunday and I told him that he played well. I told him that I hoped to find my form quickly so that we could play together.”

He added: “But I did not know that was the last time I spoke with him. Two hours later, I had no news. I was told that my friend might be dead, it’s enough to drive you crazy. I am certainly the last person to have spoken with him on the telephone. I’m not proud to say that, I really hope we find him safe and sound. It is my wish. I pray for him everyday.” Soni opined.

There has been conflicting reports about Atsu’s whereabouts since Monday, but the club is yet to put up an official statement. However, some club executives have claimed that Atsu remains incommunicado.

24-year-old Soni went further to confess that he almost lost his life in the terrible earthquake that shook Turkey on Monday February 6.

Soni feared for his life, in a terrible moment that has been engraved in his memory.

The Cameroonian international recounted: “I went home after the game. I was sitting with my cousins and we were playing PlayStation. Around 4 or 5 a.m. the ground started shaking. At the time, I told my cousins to calm down. It was when the ceiling and the walls started falling on us that we ran up the stairs. We just had time to take our passports and our phones, I don’t even know how I managed to think about it. We were lucky enough to get out of the building before everything collapsed (…) It was a day when everything really changed. There were many deaths. If you had told me that a week before, I would have tagged it impossible”, the former Cameroon youth international stated.

Seemingly startled by what he saw, Kevin Soni is yet to come to terms: “It is an ordeal that I had never experienced before. It’s really something that you don’t expect, which leaves you a life mark. It is often said that in life you never know what is next. I can tell you that I really saw why they say you never know the future. At the time, I said to myself it’s the end of the world. I saw people die next to me. I am traumatised. Today, I realise that life hangs by a thread.

“It is in these moments that we realise that everything is vanity. Everyone abandons their houses, cars, and looks for a place to take refuge. It was really a situation worthy of a movie on Netflix except that it was the reality unfortunately. This is the thing that has shocked me the most since I started playing football and in my life. I never thought I would experience something like this.” the erstwhile Girona man ended.