Former Chelsea legend dies aged 61

Former Chelsea legend dies aged 61

Former Chelsea player and manager Ray Wilkins has died aged 61.

Wilkins suffered a cardiac arrest last week and was transferred to St George’s Hospital in southwest London.

A statement released today from the former Chelsea and England star’s family confirmed that he passed away on Wednesday morning.

The statement said: “We would also like to say thank you for the many goodwill messages we have received from Ray’s friends, colleagues, and members of the public.

“Ray leaves behind his loving wife, Jackie, daughter Jade, son Ross, and his beautiful grandchildren, Oliver, Frankie, Ava, Freddie, Jake and Archie.

“We are asking for privacy at this very difficult time.”

‘Butch’, as he was commonly known, began his career at Stamford Bridge, making 179 appearances and scoring 30 goals, before spells with Manchester United, AC Milan and PSG amongst others.

Post-playing days, Wilkins returned to Stamford Bridge as assistant manager, first in 1998 and again in 2009 before announcing his retirement from coaching in 2015.

Wilkins also made 84 caps for England during his playing days, making him his country’s 14th most capped player of all time.

Chelsea wrote on their official Twitter account: “Everybody associated with Chelsea Football Club is devastated to learn of the passing of our former player, captain and assistant coach, Ray Wilkins.

“Rest in peace, Ray, you will be dreadfully missed.”