{"id":289856,"date":"2023-10-03T10:46:30","date_gmt":"2023-10-03T10:46:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/?p=289856"},"modified":"2023-10-03T10:46:30","modified_gmt":"2023-10-03T10:46:30","slug":"man-city-legend-and-ex-chairman-francis-lee-dies-at-79-after-cancer-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/soccer\/man-city-legend-and-ex-chairman-francis-lee-dies-at-79-after-cancer-battle\/","title":{"rendered":"Man City legend and ex-chairman Francis Lee dies at 79 after cancer battle"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Wolves 2-1 Manchester City: Blues&#039; winning streak stopped at Molineux<\/h3>\n<p>Ex-Manchester City striker and chairman Francis Lee has passed away at the age of 79, the club have confirmed. Flags around the Etihad Stadium are flying at half-mast as the football world pays tribute to Lee, who endured a long battle with cancer.<\/p>\n<p>Born in Lancashire, Lee began his professional career with Bolton Wanderers in 1959. The former frontman scored at a prolific rate for eight years before heading up the road to City for a club-record fee.<\/p>\n<p>Lee scored 148 goals in 330 first-team matches for the Sky Blues and became a regular at international level, scoring 10 goals for England and appearing at the 1970 World Cup for the Three Lions.<\/p>\n<p>He hung up his boots in 1976 after a brief spell with Derby County, and Lee had returned to City by the mid-1990s, spending four years as chairman.<\/p>\n<p> <strong> Don&#8217;t miss&#8230; <\/strong> <strong>Arsenal star missing from training as Arteta gets update on trio including Saka<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/590x\/secondary\/4989859.jpg?r=1696262139189\"><\/p>\n<p>At the time, Lee had also purchased a significant shareholding in the club he starred for as a player, which he held onto until 2007. The Sky Blues marked his passing with an emotional statement on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is with the deepest sadness and heaviest of hearts we announce the passing of former Manchester City player and Chairman Francis Lee, aged 79,&#8221; it read.<\/p>\n<p>We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you&#8217;ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n<p> <strong> Read more&#8230; <\/strong> <br \/> <strong>David Seaman heaps praise on Arsenal prospect Karl Hein &#8211; &#8216;really promising'[EXCLUSIVE] <\/strong> <br \/> <strong>Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag &#8216;loved&#8217; what Benni McCarthy did with Garnacho and Amad[INTERVIEW] <\/strong> <br \/> <strong>Everton takeover bidders 777 Partners may not be able to make January signings[TRANSFERS] <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A Club legend in every sense, Francis won one First Division title, one FA Cup, one League Cup, a European Cup Winners\u2019 Cup and two Charity Shields during a glittering eight-year spell as a player \u2013 a legacy that ensures his position among Manchester City\u2019s all-time greats is secure.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Franny passed away in the early hours of this 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<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/590x\/secondary\/4989931.jpg?r=1696262139243\"><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Everyone at Manchester City would like to send their condolences to the friends and family of Francis at this very difficult time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Bolton Wanderers also shared a brief statement on\u00a0X, writing: &#8220;All 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&#8217; family, friends and loved ones at this difficult time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>While Derby posted: &#8220;We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of 1974\/75 title-winner Francis Lee. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and all who knew him.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/sport\/football\/1819135\/francis-lee-dead-man-city-news\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wolves 2-1 Manchester City: Blues&#039; winning streak stopped at Molineux Ex-Manchester City striker and chairman Francis Lee has passed away<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289855,"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>Man City legend and ex-chairman Francis Lee dies at 79 after cancer battle - Sports Love Me<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/soccer\/man-city-legend-and-ex-chairman-francis-lee-dies-at-79-after-cancer-battle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Man City legend and ex-chairman Francis Lee dies at 79 after cancer battle - Sports Love Me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Wolves 2-1 Manchester City: Blues&#039; 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