Trevor Francis: Britain's first million pound player dies aged 69
Trevor Francis, British football's first £1m player, has died at the aged of 69.
Capped 52 times by England, Francis famously scored Nottingham Forest's winning goal against Malmo in the 1979 European Cup final and was part of the squad that retained the trophy a year later.
Francis spent nine years with Birmingham City after graduating from the club's academy before linking up with Forest, who were managed by the mercurial Brian Clough — his introductory press conference famously saw the manager turn up in a red gym kit carrying a squash racquet.
He also played for Manchester City, Sampdoria, Atalanta, Rangers, Queens Park Rangers and Sheffield Wednesday during a playing career that spanned 24 years, with two loan spells at Detroit Express yielding 36 goals in the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL). Francis also represented England at international level between 1977 and 1986.
Francis' career in management began in 1988, as a player-manager at QPR, before he led Sheffield Wednesday to a third-place First Division finish in 1992 — the season before the Premier League's formation — and FA Cup and League Cup final appearances the following year, losing both to Arsenal.
Birmingham and Crystal Palace were the last two clubs that Francis managed, while he also enjoyed a career as a pundit and co-commentator.
A statement released to ITV on behalf of Francis' family read: «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."
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