Britain's first £1 million footballer dies aged 69
Britain's first £1 million footballer Trevor Francis has died at the age of 69.
The former England striker passed away at his apartment in Marbella, Spain, on Monday (24.07.23) and is thought to have suffered a heart attack.
Former ITV sports presenter and Francis' close friend Gary Newbon 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."
Francis - who was born in Plymouth - started his career at Birmingham City and impressed to earn a move to Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest for the historic seven-figure fee in 1979.
The forward scored the winning goal as Forest beat Malmo to win the European Cup in the same year but missed the team's triumph in 1980 due to injury.
Clough famously claimed that the transfer fee was £999,999 to stop the pressure from going to the player's head.
Francis later enjoyed spells at Manchester City as well as Italian sides Sampdoria and Atalanta before returning to the UK in 1987 to play for Scottish giants Rangers.
The forward became a player-manager at QPR in 1988 but left after a year in charge.
He then took over at Sheffield Wednesday before retiring as a player shortly before his 40th birthday in 1994.
Francis also had managerial roles at Birmingham and Crystal Palace and worked as a television pundit for Sky Sports and BTSport.
At international level, Francis earned 52 caps for England between 1977 and 1986 - scoring 12 goals and representing the Three Lions at the 1982 World Cup.
His former Forest teammate Viv Anderson was among those paying tribute, posting on social media: "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."
