Trevor Francis, Britain’s first £1m footballer, dies aged 69

The England international helped Nottingham Forest to the European Cup.

GLORY DAYS: Winning goalscorer Trevor Francis  and goalkeeper Peter Shilton parade the trophy after the 1979 European Cup Final between Nottingham Forest and Malmo at the Olympic Stadium in Munich. Picture: Steve Powell/Allsport/Getty Images

The former England forward Trevor Francis, the first player to be transferred in Britain for £1million and the scorer of a European Cup-winning goal for Nottingham Forest, has died at the age of 69.

Francis had a distinguished career that started with his Birmingham City debut at 16 and included spells with Forest, Manchester City, Sampdoria, Atalanta and Rangers before he went into management, initially as a player-manager.

That started with QPR and included a stint on a similar basis at Sheffield Wednesday – after a period there as a player only – before he took on full-time manager roles with Wednesday, Birmingham and Crystal Palace. He led Wednesday to an FA Cup and League Cup final and Birmingham to a League Cup final.

Forest under Brian Clough paid more than £1m to buy Francis from Birmingham in February 1979. His goal against Malmö secured the European Cup in his first season and he was part of the squad that retained the trophy a year later, although he was injured for the final.

Francis played 52 times for England from 1977 to 1986, featuring at the 1982 World Cup, where he scored twice.

A statement from his family said: “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.” 

Gary Lineker, a former England teammate, tweeted: “Deeply saddened to hear that Trevor Francis has died. A wonderful footballer and lovely man. Was a pleasure to work alongside him both on the pitch and on the telly. RIP Trevor.”

Peter Shilton, who played with Francis for Forest and England, tweeted: “I’m absolutely devastated to hear about my old team mate Trevor Francis such a wonderful gentleman a friend and a terrible loss.”