Trevor Francis dead at 69 – football mourns loss of first British million pound player, who won two European Cups with Nottingham Forest after being signed by Brian Clough

Trevor Francis – the first British one million pound footballer – has died at the age of 69. 

A statement, shared on behalf of his family with ITV, 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.’

Francis, pictured here in 1979 holding the European Cup aloft, has died aged 69

Francis was a lethal striker in his time and won the European Cup twice with Nottingham Forest having first risen to stardom at Birmingham City. 

Francis, who spoke to Mail Sport in a wide-ranging, emotional and fascinating interview in 2019, went into management after his playing career, most notably with Sheffield Wednesday before working for more than two decades in broadcasting. 

In a pre-cursor to the explosion of the transfer market’s astronomical sums of today, Francis was a superstar in his time. 

His move from Birmingham City to Forest in 1979 was monumental. The forward had racked up 118 goals in 280 games for his boyhood side when he left. 

Football is mourning the loss of Trevor Francis, the first British million pound player

Francis, pictured here with football royalty Pele in 1972, doubled the British transfer record

Brian Clough’s side splashed out the enormous fee for Francis, making him the first British player to be transferred for that amount in history. 

Clough told everyone the fee — twice the previous British record — was a pound under the £1m mark. It was in fact £1,150,000 and the manager was trying to take pressure off his big-money man,’ Francis later revealed.

Giuseppe Savoldi was the world’s first million pound man when he went from Bologna to Napoli in 1975.

Francis had spoken about his remarkable career and personal struggle following the death of his wife in 2017. 

‘When you get in the first team as a footballer you don’t think football will ever stop,’ he previously told Mail Sport’s Ian Ladyman. 

‘In the same way, I didn’t think Helen and I would ever stop. She was my best friend and I couldn’t have done any of what I did without her. 

‘We were married 43 years. You know, every day is difficult. I do get quite lonely. But I am trying to adapt. I have to.’ 

Francis rose to prominence with his boyhood club Birmingham City (pictured in 1971)

Graeme Souness and Francis are pictured during a holiday to Portofino in 1984

Francis worked in television as a pundit for many years and was highly respected

His former sides have paid tribute to him on social media and Francis’ legacy is a formidable one. 

The talent was immediately apparent when he broke through to represent Birmingham City at the tender age of 16. 

He stayed for almost a decade before joining Clough’s brilliant Forest side who went on to conquer Europe, with Francis playing an integral part. 

Francis scored the winning goal in the European Cup final against Swedish side Malmo in 1979, timing his run perfectly at the back post before heading home.  

Clough’s men would repeat the trick the following season, beating Hamburg in the final on that occasion. 

Francis’ move to Forest was not the only big deal of his career. He joined Manchester City for £1.2m in 1981. 

The club then ran into financial difficulties and he moved to Sampdoria, Italian giants at the time, playing alongside his great friend Graeme Souness and helping them to the Coppa Italia. 

Francis lost his wife Helen in 2017 and spoke of the profound effect on him 

Francis signed for Sampdoria in 1983, pictured here with fellow English exile Luther Blissett of AC Milan

Francis was a tall forward and boasted an impressive scoring record 

He helped Nottingham Forest win back-to-back European Cups under Brian Clough

Spells at Atalanta, Rangers, Queen’s Park Rangers and Sheffield Wednesday followed before he retired from playing and he also had a respectable international career with 52 caps for England and 12 goals. 

Life in the dugout started well for Francis when he turned his hand to management,  guiding Wednesday to a third place finish in 1992. He returned to Birmingham in 1996 with the aim of steering them back into the top flight but was unable to do so and left in 2001. 

His final job in management came at Crystal Palace, where he was sacked by then-chairman Simon Jordan on his birthday in 2003. 

Francis then focused on his work as a television pundit, a field in which he was a widely respected and admired figure.  

Francis was a major figure in English  football as a player, manager and then pundit