Britain's first £1million footballer Francis dies aged 69

Ex-England and Birmingham forward Trevor Francis has passed away at the age of 69.

Francis, who played 52 times for the Three Lions, became Britain's first £1million player when he joined Nottingham Forest from the Blues in 1979.

He went on to score the winning goal for Forest in the 1979 European Cup final.

A statement released on behalf of his family 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."

After his impressive first season at the City Ground, Francis was ruled out with injury as Forest enjoyed European glory once again in 1979-80 when Brian Clough's side defeated Hamburg in Madrid.

The Plymouth-born star went on to lift further silverware however with Sampdoria, Rangers and Sheffield Wednesday.

At international level, Francis represented his country 52 times between 1977 and 1986, scoring 12 goals including two at the 1982 World Cup.

He then made the switch to the dugout at QPR, where he took on a player-manager role — a position he would also go on to fulfil with the Owls.

During a glorious four-year stint at Hillsborough, Francis led the South Yorkshire club to both the League Cup and FA Cup final in 1992-93.

After hanging up his boots in 1994, he went on to coach his boyhood club as well as Crystal Palace.

Francis later enjoyed a successful career as a pundit and broadcaster.