Soccer

British football’s first £1m player Trevor Francis dies aged 69

English player scored a European Cup-winning goal for Nottingham Forest

Trevor Francis. Former Birmingham and England forward has died at the age of 69. Photograph: Nigel French/PA Wire
Trevor Francis. Former Birmingham and England forward has died at the age of 69. Photograph: Nigel French/PA Wire
Mon Jul 24 2023 - 17:07

The former England forward Trevor Francis, the first player to be transferred in Britain for £1 million and the scorer of a European Cup-winning goal for Nottingham Forest, has died at the age of 69.

Francis had a distinguished career that started with his Birmingham City debut at 16 and included spells with Forest, Manchester City, Sampdoria, Atalanta and Rangers before he went into management, initially as a player-manager.

That started with QPR and included a stint on a similar basis at Sheffield Wednesday – after a period there as a player only – before he took on full-time manager roles with Wednesday, Birmingham and Crystal Palace. He led Wednesday to an FA Cup and League Cup final and Birmingham to a League Cup final.

Forest under Brian Clough paid more than £1m to buy Francis from Birmingham in February 1979. His goal against Malmö secured the European Cup in his first season and he was part of the squad that retained the trophy a year later, although he was injured for the final.

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Francis played 52 times for England from 1977 to 1986, featuring at the 1982 World Cup, where he scored twice.

A statement from his family said: “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.”

Gary Lineker, a former England team-mate, tweeted: “Deeply saddened to hear that Trevor Francis has died. A wonderful footballer and lovely man. Was a pleasure to work alongside him both on the pitch and on the telly. RIP Trevor.”

Peter Shilton, who played with Francis for Forest and England, tweeted: “I’m absolutely devastated to hear about my old team-mate Trevor Francis such a wonderful gentleman a friend and a terrible loss.” – Guardian