The first English player worth millions of pounds dies
"Francis suffered a heart attack and passed away at his apartment in Marbella, Spain this morning," the family announced on ITV on July 24. "This is a big shock to everyone. Francis is a football legend and a kind person."
Francis began his career with the Birmingham City youth team and was promoted to the first team from 1970-1979. In 1979, he became the first English player to cost 1 million pounds ($1.68 million) when he moved from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest. At that time, Nottingham manager Brian Clough said the fee was £ 999,999. He later revealed the actual transfer fee of £1.15 million and wanted to ease the pressure on Francis. More than four decades after Francis broke the £1m mark, the transfer record for an English player increased 100-fold as Arsenal spent £100m and £5m in extra fees on Declan Rice from West Ham this summer.
In the shirt of Nottingham Forest, Francis scored 37 goals in 93 matches, helping the club win two consecutive European Cups in 1979, 1980 and the European Super Cup in 1979.
In 1981, he joined Man City for a fee of 1.2 million pounds and then played for Sampdoria, Atalanta, Rangers, QPR, Wollongong City, then retired with Sheffield Wednesday in 1994. Francis worked as a player and coach at QPR, Sheffield Wednesday and then led Birmingham City, Crystal Palace.
For England, Francis scored 12 goals in 52 games between 1977-1986, including two at the 1982 World Cup.
Legendary Gary Lineker was among the first to pay his respects to Francis. "Extremely saddened to learn of the passing of Francis," Lineker wrote on Twitter. "A great footballer and a lovely man. It's been an honor to work with Francis both on the pitch and on television."
Viv Anderson, the first black player to play for England, wrote on Instagram: "Just heard the unbelievable news about Francis. He was a great man and great teammate that will always be missed. My deepest condolences to Francis' family and friends."
Close friend and ITV sports presenter Gary Newbon said Francis is still in good health after receiving a stent for a heart attack 12 years ago. The British player walks every day, hardly drinking alcohol. Therefore, Newbon was shocked at the news of his close friend's death.
The official England Twitter account also pays tribute to Francis, when posting his statistics in the team shirt. Francis' former clubs, such as Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest - also send their condolences to the former striker's family.
Off the field, Francis married Helen in 1974 and has two children. In his autobiography "One In A Million", the former England striker told how life was very difficult after Helen died in 2017 and had to resort to a psychologist.
