Former Nottingham Forest and England footballer Trevor Francis has died aged 69 at his home in Marbella.
A short statement, released this morning on behalf of his family, reads: "Trevor Francis has died at the age of 69.
"He had a heart attack at his apartment in Spain this morning.
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"On behalf of the family, this has come as a huge shock to everybody.
"We are all very upset.
"He was a legendary footballer but he was also an extremely nice person."
The iconic footballer was England’s first ever £1M player after his transfer from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest and was a huge part of Forest’s win in the European Cup in 1979, where he scored the winning goal against Malmö.
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He won the European Cup again with the club the following year.
The Plymouth-born footballer worked as a manager between 1988 and 2003. His final manager role was at Crystal Palace, who left two decades ago in 2003.
During his stint as a manager, he also managed but Queen's Park Rangers and Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham City
Not only did he play for a number of clubs in England but also the United States, Italy, Scotland and Australia.
Francis died earlier on Monday (24 July) at his apartment close to Marbella, Spain. It is believed he died as a result of a heart attack.
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ITV sports presenter and friend Gary Newborn said: “This is obviously a terrible shock for Trevor and his family and friends.
“He was revered throughout football and has his place assured in the history of the game.
“But he was also an incredibly kind and popular man, who will be greatly missed by so, so many people.”
Newborn said Francis had a stent fitted after a heart attack he suffered 12 years ago, but appeared to be in good health.
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"Since then he had stayed in incredible shape,” he added. “He power-walked daily and barely drank. That’s why this comes as such a shock.”
Tributes started pouring in shortly after the sad news of Francis’ death was announced. His former teammate Vic Anderson led the tributes by sharing a black and white image of the sports star alongside a written tribute.
He wrote: "Just heard the unbelievable news regarding Trevor Francis, he was such a wonderful person and fabulous teammate he will be sadly missed, my condolences go to his family and friends RIP."
Gregory Robinson