Britain’s first £1million footballer Trevor Francis dies aged 69 as tributes paid to legend
Football legend Trevor Francis has sadly died at the age of 69.
Tributes have been paid from across the game to the former Birmingham, Nottingham Forest and England striker after he passed away following a heart attack on Monday.
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.»
Francis enjoyed an extensive, and successful, playing career at some of the biggest clubs in Britain and also won more than 50 England caps.
He also had a successful period as a manager, taking charge of QPR, Sheffield Wednesday, Birmingham and Crystal Palace.
Francis etched himself into the football history books in 1979 when he was sold by Birmingham to Nottingham Forest for £1million — the first time in Britain a footballer had been bought for a seven-figure sum.
He made 329 appearances for the Blues, scoring 133 times before switching to the east Midlands with Forest.
The striker won two European Cups with Brian Clough's side, scoring the winner in the 1979 final but missed 1980 final through injury.
He also had two spells on loan at Detroit Express in the USA in 1978 and 1979.
After three years at Forest, he was sold to Man City for £1.2m.
He spent one year at Maine Road before he was sold to Italian giants Sampdoria, while he also spent a season at Atalanta.
Francis then headed back to Britain to join Rangers, before spells at Queen's Park Rangers and finally Sheffield Wednesday.
He played 52 times for England, scoring 12 goals, playing in the 1982 World Cup.
As a manager he was the runner-up in the FA
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