Trevor Francis, who came to fame as the first £1million footballer and was also manager of Sheffield Wednesday in the early years of the Premier League, has passed away at the age of 69.
Francis signed for Nottingham Forest in 1979 for more than £1million and won them the European Cup that same year, scoring the only goal against Malmo.
He was also part of the Forest team who retained the trophy the following year.
Thank you for everything, Trevor ❤️ pic.twitter.com/iYrEWi6RKL
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) July 24, 2023
"On behalf of the family, this has come as a huge shock to everybody,” a family statement read. "We are all very upset. He was a legendary footballer but he was also an extremely nice person."
Having made his debut for Birmingham City at the age of 16, before moving to Forest, Francis also played for Manchester City and Queens Park Rangers.
Manchester City are deeply saddened at the passing of our former player Trevor Francis.
— Manchester City (@ManCity) July 24, 2023
Our thoughts are with Trevor’s friends and family at this difficult time.
He was capped 52 times by England between 1976 and 1986, scoring 12 goals, of which two came in the 1982 FIFA World Cup finals.
Francis became player-manager at Wednesday and was in charge at Hillsborough for the first three seasons of the Premier League. He took the Owls to the FA Cup and League Cup finals in 1993, where they lost each time to Arsenal.
He managed 126 Premier League matches in total for Wednesday, winning 44, and claimed the December 1993 Manager of the Month award, before leaving in 1995.
He was also the man who brought Eric Cantona to England in February 1992, offering him a trial at Wednesday before the French forward signed for Yorkshire rivals Leeds United.
Other English clubs he managed are Birmingham and Crystal Palace.
Everyone at the Premier League sends their condolences to his family and friends during this difficult time.