Gary Lineker leads emotional tributes to Trevor Francis

Gary Lineker has led emotional tributes to Trevor Francis, who has passed away at the age of 69. Francis, who became the first £1million player when he joined Nottingham Forest from Birmingham in 1979 for £1.18m, died after suffering a heart attack while in Spain.

“Deeply saddened to hear that Trevor Francis has died,” Lineker wrote on Twitter. “A wonderful footballer and lovely man. Was a pleasure to work alongside him both on the pitch and on the telly. RIP Trevor.”

Francis made his Birmingham debut as a 16-year-old in 1970 after coming through the club’s academy and went on to become a club legend at St Andrew’s Stadium. After moving to the City Ground he became a European champion within months as he scored the only goal of the game to help Forest defeat Malmo in the 1979 European Cup final.

The former striker helped Forest retain their European crown a year later before enjoying spells with Manchester City, Sampdoria, Atalanta and Rangers. He then took on the role of player-manager at QPR and Sheffield Wednesday and went on to oversee Birmingham and Crystal Palace after his playing days had ended.

Francis, who scored 12 goals in 52 appearances for England, was a legendary figure in football, with his name even cropping up during the outro of television comedy Only Fools and Horses. But on Monday, his family released a statement that read: “Trevor Francis has died at the age of 69. He had a heart attack at his apartment in Spain this morning. 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.”

A whole host of former stars paid tribute to Francis as the news of his passing broke, with ex-England player Viv Anderson taking to Instagram to pen: “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.”

Nottingham Forest posted a video to Twitter of Francis scoring their European Cup final winner and, in a separate post, wrote: “Nottingham Forest is deeply saddened to learn the passing of two-time European Cup winner, Trevor Francis. A true Forest legend who will never be forgotten.”

Manchester City penned: “Manchester City are deeply saddened at the passing of our former player Trevor Francis. Our thoughts are with Trevor’s friends and family at this difficult time.”

And Birmingham City added: “Blues is deeply saddened and shocked to learn of the passing of club legend Trevor Francis, at the age of 69 on Monday 24 July 2023. Trevor will forever be revered as a giant of the club, the player everyone wanted to see. He represented Blues on 330 occasions, scoring 133 goals. Blues sends its thoughts and deepest sympathies to Trevor’s family and friends.”