Gary Lineker leads emotional tributes to Trevor Francis

Gary Lineker has led emotional tributes to Trevor Francis, who has handed away on the age of 69. Francis, who grew to become the primary £1million participant when he joined Nottingham Forest from Birmingham in 1979 for £1.18m, died after struggling a coronary heart assault whereas 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 via the membership’s academy and went on to bag 119 targets in 280 appearances for the Blues. After transferring to the City Ground he grew to become a European champion inside months as he scored the one purpose of the sport to assist Forest defeat Malmo within the 1979 European Cup ultimate.

The former striker helped City retain their European crown a yr later earlier than having fun with spells with Manchester City, Sampdoria, Atalanta and Rangers. He was additionally player-manager of QPR and Sheffield Wednesday and went on to supervise Birmingham and Crystal Palace after his enjoying days had ended.

Francis, who scored 12 targets in 52 appearances for England, was a legendary determine in soccer, along with his title even cropping up throughout the outro of tv comedy Only Fools and Horses. But on Monday, his household launched an announcement that learn: “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 complete host of former stars paid tribute to Francis because the news of his passing broke, with ex-England participant 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 ultimate winner and, in a separate publish, 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.”