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Former England footballer Trevor Francis has died aged 69.
The former Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest and Manchester City forward passed away after having a heart attack at his home in Marbella on Monday morning, his family have said.
A statement read: "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, who had a suspected heart attack 11 years ago, was known to spend his time between Spain and the UK after his wife Helen died in 2017 following a battle with cancer.
The former striker had an impressive international career, representing his country 52 times from 1977 to 1986, scoring 12 goals, including two during the first group stage of the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
Francis began his journey with Birmingham City as a schoolboy and made his debut at just 16 years old in 1970.
We are deeply saddened by the news that Trevor Francis has passed away aged 69.
— England (@England) July 24, 2023
He won 52 caps and scored 12 goals – including two at the 1982 @FIFAWorldCup – for the #ThreeLions between 1977 and 1986.
All of our thoughts are with his family, friends and former clubs. pic.twitter.com/GNBeV4onDp
From the start, he displayed remarkable goal-scoring abilities, scoring 15 goals in his debut season. Throughout his nine seasons with Birmingham, he netted a total of 133 goals in 329 games.
In 1979, Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough made Francis the first British player to command a one-million-pound transfer fee.
We are deeply saddened by the news that Trevor Francis has passed away aged 69.
— England (@England) July 24, 2023
He won 52 caps and scored 12 goals – including two at the 1982 @FIFAWorldCup – for the #ThreeLions between 1977 and 1986.
All of our thoughts are with his family, friends and former clubs. pic.twitter.com/GNBeV4onDp
During his time at Forest, he played a vital role in their consecutive European Cup victories, a feat unmatched by any English team since, and even scored the winning goal in his team's first final against Swedish side Malmö.
Francis later moved on to Manchester City in 1981 before experiencing stints in Italy with Sampdoria and Atalanta.
In 1987, Francis returned to the UK and joined Rangers, but his time at Ibrox lasted only one season before he moved on to QPR, where he became player-manager.
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.
— Birmingham City FC (@BCFC) July 24, 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… pic.twitter.com/o960MYJhQZ
Subsequently, he joined Sheffield Wednesday in 1990 as a player, winning the League Cup, going on to achieve an impressive third-place finish in the top flight in 1992 as he became player-manager.
During the following season, Francis guided Wednesday to both cup finals, losing to Arsenal on both occasions. He retired from playing in 1994 aged 39 and, a year later, was dismissed from his managerial role at Hillsborough.
In 1996, he returned to St Andrew's, this time as the manager of Birmingham City. He spent five years in charge, including leading the team to the League Cup final in 2001.
His final managerial stint came at Crystal Palace, but he was ultimately sacked after a little over a year at the helm.
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