credit: Twitter
Italian legend and former Chelsea striker Gianluca Vialli passed away at the age of 58 on Friday after a long-running battle with cancer. His former club Chelsea along with other Premier League clubs and legendary players like Johan Cruyff and Alan Shearer paid tribute to the legendary Italy forward on social media.
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After struggling for 17 months against the pancreatic cancer, Vialli was given green light in April 2020. However, he was diagnosed with the same condition in 2021 and after a long fight, the legendary forward passed away on January 6, 2023.
Check Premier League clubs' tweets:
Gianluca Vialli played 673 matches and scored 259 goals in his club career and joined Chelsea in 1996. During his three-year spell with Chelsea, Vialli led the Blues to the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup victories. After Chelsea parted ways with Ruud Gullit in 1998, Vialli at 33 became the player-manager for the club and ultimately became Chelsea head coach in 1999.
Legendary players react:
After Gianluca Vialli's death, Chelsea's co-owners Boehly and Eghbali wrote a heartfelt tribute for the legend and shared via the club's website. The statement read, "This is truly an awful day for Chelsea Football Club. Gianluca’s legend will live on at Stamford Bridge. His impact as a player, a coach and most importantly as a person, will be forever written across our club’s history. We send our heartfelt and deepest condolences to his family and friends. "
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