{"id":292851,"date":"2023-10-02T21:41:41","date_gmt":"2023-10-02T21:41:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/?p=292851"},"modified":"2023-10-02T21:41:41","modified_gmt":"2023-10-02T21:41:41","slug":"manchester-city-legend-francis-lee-dies-aged-79","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/soccer\/manchester-city-legend-francis-lee-dies-aged-79\/","title":{"rendered":"Manchester City legend Francis Lee dies aged 79"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Francis Lee has died at the age of 79 <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/static-assets\/images\/newsletter\/football\/football-thumb\/football-thumb.png\" width=\"134\" height=\"134\" layout=\"responsive\"><\/p>\n<h3>Sign up to Miguel Delaney\u2019s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free<\/h3>\n<h3>Sign up to Miguel\u2019s Delaney\u2019s free weekly newsletter <\/h3>\n<h2>Thanks for signing up to the<br \/> Football email<\/h2>\n<p>Manchester City legend Francis Lee has died at the age of 79, the club has confirmed.<\/p>\n<p>Lee is widely regarded as one of City\u2019s greatest players of all time, having scored 148 goals in 330 appearances for the club in a trophy-laden eight-year spell between 1967 and 1974 that saw them claim one First Division title, one FA Cup, one League Cup, a European Cup Winners\u2019 Cup and two Charity Shields.<\/p>\n<p>He also earned 27 caps for England, scoring 10 goals, and enjoyed further trophy success at Derby County after leaving City, helping the Rams to the league title in 1975.<\/p>\n<p>Man City confirmed his passing in a club statement: \u201cIt is with the deepest sadness and heaviest of hearts we announce the passing of former Manchester City player and chairman Francis Lee, aged 79.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFranny passed away in the early hours of this [Monday] morning after a long battle with cancer. His wife Gill and children Charlotte, Jonny and Nik say he will be sorely missed and would like to thank everyone for their kind words.<\/p>\n<h3>Recommended<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2023\/10\/02\/21\/GettyImages-1713746850.jpg\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2023\/10\/02\/22\/aa309610cfc6a7348daf5a530ae5b550Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNjk2MzY2MzYw-2.72237238.jpg\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2023\/10\/01\/21\/Collage%20Maker-01-Oct-2023-09-16-PM-5436.jpg\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2023\/10\/02\/19\/GettyImages-1565721.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>Lee in action for England against Scotland in 1971 <\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone at Manchester City would like to send their condolences to the friends and family of Francis at this very difficult time. As a mark of respect, flags around the Etihad Stadium and City Football Academy are flying at half-mast.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lee had begun his career with Bolton Wanderers before Manchester City manager Joe Mercer signed him for a club-record transfer fee of \u00a360,000 in 1967. He also made history at Mexico in 1970 where he became the first England player to receive a card at a World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>After his playing career finished Lee ran a successful toilet roll business, becoming a millionaire, and returned to Man City as club chairman in 1994, spending four years at the helm.<\/p>\n<p>In the 2016 New Year Honours list, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to football and charity.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2023\/10\/02\/16\/newFile-4.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>Chairman Lee with new City manager Steve Coppell in 1996 <\/p>\n<p>Lee\u2019s first club Bolton posted their condolences on X, formerly Twitter, stating: \u201cAll at Bolton Wanderers are saddened to learn of the passing of former forward, Francis Lee. The thoughts of everyone at the club are with Francis\u2019 family, friends and loved ones at this difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, who is a big Man City fan, also posted on X: \u201cFRANNY LEE RIP\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFormer Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and England striker Stan Collymore \u2013 who now works as a football pundit \u2013 also expressed his sorrow at Lee\u2019s passing.<\/p>\n<p>He wrote: \u201cSending sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Franny Lee. Had some lovely chats over the years on here and at City where he rightly had his status acknowledged by the club over the years. Another legend gone too soon. Rest in peace, Franny.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Recommended<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2023\/10\/02\/21\/GettyImages-1713746850.jpg\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2023\/10\/02\/22\/aa309610cfc6a7348daf5a530ae5b550Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNjk2MzY2MzYw-2.72237238.jpg\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2023\/10\/01\/21\/Collage%20Maker-01-Oct-2023-09-16-PM-5436.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>Recent City captain Vincent Kompany wrote on X that he was \u201cSaddened to hear of the passing of Francis Lee today, aged 79. I had the honour of meeting him and speaking to him on more than a few occasions and will cherish these moments\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Another City stalwart Paul Dickov wrote: \u201cA gentleman, proper football man with a great sense of humour. The main reason I signed for @ManCity with his sheer love for the club &#038; will be forever grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/sport\/football\/francis-lee-death-cause-franny-man-city-b2422484.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Francis Lee has died at the age of 79 Sign up to Miguel Delaney\u2019s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free Sign up to Miguel\u2019s Delaney\u2019s free weekly newsletter Thanks for signing up to the Football email Manchester&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292850,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Manchester City legend Francis Lee dies aged 79 - 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