Trevor Francis, Britain’s first £1 million footballer, dies

Trevor Francis, Britain’s first £1 million footballer, has died at the age of 69 from a heart attack, a family spokesman announced yesterday.

The forward joined Nottingham Forest from Birmingham in the record move in 1979, scoring the winning goal in the European Cup final just months later.

He won 52 caps for England, scoring 12 goals and later as a manager guided Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham to major domestic finals.

Forest shattered the British transfer record when they paid £1.15 million for him in 1979, although manager Brian Clough famously claimed the fee was £999 999 to take pressure off the player.