Anita Gyan, the wife of the recently deceased Christian Gyan, has sent a letter to express her gratitude to everyone who has contributed to her husband’s funeral. The letter was posted Monday morning at the request of the woman by Michel van Egmond, who calls on everyone to share the letter. Gyan’s funeral took place last Saturday. The day before, Feyenoorders were given the opportunity to pay the former football player one last tribute.
“It is with great gratitude that I write to you sincerely and from the bottom of my heart, on behalf of my deceased husband and our children”, Anita Gyan begins her acceptance speech. “What you have done has amazed me and my family. Thank you for loving my husband so much. The song you made for him, ‘Christian Gyan, Christian Gyan, Christian Gyan olé olé’, is so beautiful. My children and I sang it to him when he was sick. He would always have laughed. Even if he couldn’t speak well, I’m sure he will take the song to his grave. It was a song that always cheered him up.”
Anita Gyan, Chris’s widow, asked me to post this acknowledgment to The Legion on her behalf. (A retweet will be appreciated by the family so as many people as possible know their thanks for all the love and support.) pic.twitter.com/50AZFVtJZG
— Michel van Egmond (@VanEgmond1968) January 31, 2022
“Thank you Legion, board and staff of Feyenoord, former players and fans of Chris for your heartwarming donations and the wonderful tribute to Chris. It was touching to see so many love me and take care of my husband. That is why why I bought the Feyenoord style grave, because ‘Once a Feyenoord, always a Feyenoord’ This way Chris returns home I also want to thank the undertaker and his crew, the pastor and the church, the cameraman and thank our dear friends. I want to thank everyone for the time and help that made the funeral a success.”
The donation campaign of Feyenoord and FSV De Feijenoorder yielded an amount of more than 145,000 euros. Gyan grew into a cult hero and favorite of the legion between 1997 and 2007. That was also the reason that the Gyan family, in consultation with Feyenoord and the supporters’ association FSV De Feijenoorder, wanted to give the supporters the opportunity to say goodbye together. A group of approximately 1500 supporters and interested parties paid their last respects to Gyan on the Friday before the funeral.