Trevor Francis, Britain’s first £1 million footballer, has died at the age of 69 from a heart attack, a family spokesperson said on Monday.
The forward’s blockbuster move to Nottingham Forest from Birmingham took place in February 1979 and he scored the winning goal in the European Cup final just months later.
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Francis won 52 caps for England, scoring 12 times, and later, as a manager, guided Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham to major domestic finals.
“He died in Spain this morning from a heart attack,” said a spokesman for the family, speaking of their huge shock.
Francis made his debut for Birmingham in 1970 at the age of 16 and had an instant impact.
He was tagged “Super Boy” and drew comparisons with goalscoring greats Jimmy Greaves and Denis Law.
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Forest shattered the British transfer record when they paid £1.15 million for him in 1979 – more than double the previous mark.
But charismatic manager Brian Clough famously claimed the fee was £999 999 to take pressure off the player.
Francis told the Guardian in 2019 that his transfer fee remained a talking point throughout his career.
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“I won European Cups with Nottingham Forest, I played 52 times over nine years for England, but whenever I go to a sporting occasion I’m always introduced as the first £1 million footballer, as if that’s the only thing I achieved in my career,” he said.
“But do I feel proud of being the first £1 million player? Absolutely.”
European glory
Francis repaid part of the huge fee by heading the winner in Forest’s 1-0 victory over Malmo to win the club’s first European Cup in May 1979.
But he missed the European Cup win over Hamburg a year later through injury and joined Manchester City in 1981.
Spells at Sampdoria, where he won the Coppa Italia, Atalanta, Rangers and QPR, where he was player-manager, followed.
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He moved to Sheffield Wednesday in 1990 and subsequently replaced Ron Atkinson as manager, taking the club to the finals of the League Cup and the FA Cup in 1993, both of which they lost to Arsenal.
He formally retired as a player in 1994, at the age of 39.
Following his spell at Wednesday he managed at Birmingham and Crystal Palace.
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In retirement Francis, who suffered a heart attack 11 years ago, spent half the year in Spain and the rest near Birmingham.
He had an annual health check through the League Managers’ Association and, according to the spokesman, was “enjoying life very much, having eventually got over the death of his wife”.
Helen died in 2017 after a battle with cancer.
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Former Forest team-mate Peter Shilton was among the first to pay tribute.
The former England goalkeeper tweeted: “I’m absolutely devastated to hear about my old team-mate Trevor Francis — such a wonderful gentleman a friend and a terrible loss.”
Forest tweeted Francis was “a true Forest legend who will never be forgotten”.
A tweet from Birmingham City read: “Trevor will forever be revered as a giant of the club, the player everyone wanted to see.”
England’s governing Football Association also paid tribute to Francis by saying: “We are deeply saddened by the news that Trevor Francis has passed away aged 69….All of our thoughts are with his family, friends and former clubs.”
By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse
