Media playback is not supported on this device Ray Wilkins dies aged 61: 'One of the best players of his generation'
Former England and Chelsea midfielder Ray Wilkins has died in hospital at the age of 61.
Wilkins, who also played for Manchester United, AC Milan, Rangers and QPR, was being treated at St George's Hospital in London following cardiac arrest.
His family thanked "Ray's friends, colleagues and members of the public" for the many messages of goodwill.
Chelsea said they were "devastated to learn of the passing of our former player, captain and assistant coach".
The club added: "Rest in peace, Ray, you will be dreadfully missed."
Wilkins' family said: "It is with great sadness we announce that Raymond Colin Wilkins passed away this morning.
"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."
Wilkins' last club job was as assistant manager of Aston Villa in 2015
Wilkins, who had been working as a TV and radio pundit, had suffered poor health in recent years and had double bypass heart surgery in July 2017.
He also admitted struggling with alcohol problems in the past and went through a five-week rehabilitation programme in the Priory Hospital in Woking in 2016 following a four-year ban for drink-driving.
As a player he made 84 appearances for England and captained his country 10 times, while he won the FA Cup with Manchester United in 1983 and the Scottish league title with Rangers in 1989.
Wilkins had spells as manager of QPR, Fulham and the Jordan national team.
He was also Chelsea assistant coach from 1998-2000 and then 2008 until 2010, when he worked alongside Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti.
Wilkins was remembered at Wednesday's Milan derby
Before Wednesday evening's Milan derby, former AC Milan team-mate Franco Baresi led a minute's applause in honour of Wilkins, and laid a bouquet of flowers and a 'Wilkins 8' Milan shirt in front of the famous Curva Sud stand.
The EFL said a period of applause will be held before Sunday's Checkatrade Trophy final at Wembley Stadium between Lincoln City and Shrewsbury Town and that it would offer its "full support for any proposed marks of respect" from any clubs.
Ray Wilkins' playing career Chelsea Crystal Palace Manchester United Wycombe Wanderers AC Milan Hibernian Paris St-Germain Millwall Rangers Leyton Orient QPR
'Elegant, a visionary, a leader'
BBC Sport chief football writer Phil McNulty
Wilkins' career was characterised by maturity and dignity, which was recognised early in his time at Chelsea, where he made his debut as a 17-year-old in October 1973 before being awarded the captaincy at just 18 by then manager Eddie McCreadie.
He went on to make his England debut in the Bicentennial Tournament against Italy in New York City in May 1976 and had a burgeoning reputation as one of the young pin-up boys of English football, as well as one of its most promising talents.
Wilkins led a group of emerging Chelsea youngsters back into the top flight, but once they were relegated again it became inevitable that top-flight clubs would pounce. So it proved as he signed for Manchester United in August 1979.
He acquired an unfair reputation for a conservative playing style, with one cruel nickname of 'The Crab' mocking his supposed preference for sideways passes.
Those who actually played with Wilkins thought differently and spoke of an elegant, visionary midfield player and leader whose abilities were underrated, as evidenced by the calibre of clubs who were always keen to secure his services.
READ MORE: Farewell to a footballing nomad and an 'absolute gentleman'
'He lived for and loved football' - reaction
England manager Gareth Southgate, who played alongside Wilkins at Crystal Palace: "When he played with us you could immediately see that his technical ability to play the ball was phenomenal.
"In the modern game, those attributes would have been appreciated far more than they were at that time, so he really was a top, top player.
"He would have been one of the earliest to go abroad and play in the Italian league. At the time, it was at a really high level so being able to transition into a club like AC Milan and be as popular as he was there speaks volumes for his ability.
"It was really sad when I heard what happened at the weekend. It's happened so suddenly and it's tragic for Jackie and his family.
"Ray was a great ambassador for the game, a proud Englishman who loved playing for his country and an absolute gent - a class act."
Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson: "Ray was a great football man who was well respected and liked by all who knew him and he always had a kind word and time for people.
"Ray was an impressive football talent and had a fantastic career representing some of the biggest clubs in the world. He will be missed by us all."
Former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard: "Devastated to hear the news that Ray Wilkins has passed away. He was a great player and an even greater man. Full of kindness and humility, with impeccable manners at all times. He had respect and time for everyone and to me he was a mentor and a friend. I'm not sure they make them like Ray anymore. You will be sorely missed fella."
Ex-Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson: "Was only two weeks ago I was with Ray in Brighton... Feel Empty - Much love to all the Family... Life is Cruel... RIP BUD..."
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore: "His passion for the game was second to none and his pleasure in sharing it never diminished. He will be missed by all of us."
Former AC Milan defender Franco Baresi: "In these moments you never know what to say, but it was an honour to have you as a companion, you were special, a gentleman on the field and out. Thank you Ray Wilkins RIP."
Ex-England striker Gary Lineker: "Deeply saddened to hear that Ray Wilkins has passed away. A wonderful footballer and a delightful man. It was a pleasure to have played alongside him with England. No team-mate was more helpful and supportive. I'll be forever grateful. Thoughts are with his family. #RIPRay."
Former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel: "Sad and choked to hear of the passing of Ray Wilkins. A true football person with a totally underestimated contribution to our sport. One of the best I've seen. My thoughts are with his family. Rest in peace."
Ex-England winger Chris Waddle: "So sorry to hear about Ray Wilkins a great player and a true gentleman RIP."
Former England and Newcastle striker Alan Shearer: "So sad to hear the news about Ray Wilkins. He lived for and loved football. I was lucky enough to have worked with him and he was always a true gentleman. He will be sorely missed by so many. #RIPRay."
Former Manchester United team-mate Mickey Thomas on BBC Radio Wales: "He was a great guy, one unbelievable man.
"He became an instant star at Chelsea and when he went to Old Trafford in a big money move there was a lot of pressure on him. He found it difficult initially but he won the fans over and became a legend there - he became a legend wherever he played.
"In today's game, money couldn't buy him - he was a gifted individual, such a talented footballer."
League Managers Association chairman Howard Wilkinson: "Ray lived and breathed football his whole career. As a player, he was a leader on the pitch and he instilled his beliefs and values into his coaching, helping a vast number of players understand what it meant to win games of football at the highest level.
"Ray has been a stalwart of the LMA for many years. His energy and love of the game were his biggest strengths. As well as being a manager in his own right, he became one of the most supportive and trusted assistant managers in the Premier League, providing a sounding board to many managers in the past 20 years and achieving great successes with his boyhood club, Chelsea.
"Many things come to mind when I think of Ray but, above all, no matter what the circumstances he remained a true gentleman."
Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish: "So upset to hear the news of Ray Wilkins. RIP Ray. Even when Ray left Villa, he was always ringing me offering advice and telling me what I could do to improve. A true gentleman and one of the nicest guys I've ever met."
Former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand: "RIP Ray Wilkins. Always so humble & softly spoken whenever I saw him. Genuine lovely guy. Watched him live at Loftus Road many times for QPR. What a great passer & teacher of the game for any young kids who watched him."
Ex-Rangers defender and team-mate John Brown: "It was a privilege to have played alongside Ray and to have known him as a true friend and gentleman."
KOMPAS.com - Mantan gelandang tim nasional Inggris, yang juga pernah menjadi asisten pelatih Chelsea, Ray Wilkins, meninggal dunia di rumah sakit pada usia 61 tahun, Rabu (4/4/2018).
Sebelumnya, Wilkins, yang juga pernah bermain untuk Manchester United, AC Milan, Rangers, dan QPR, dirawat di St George's Hospital di London, Inggris, setelah mengalami serangan jantung.
"Semua orang yang terkait dengan klub sepak bola Chelsea sangat terpukul untuk belajar tentang meninggalnya mantan pemain kami, kapten, dan asisten pelatih kami, Ray Wilkins. Istirahat dalam damai, Ray, Anda akan sangat dirindukan," demikian pernyataan Chelsea terkait meninggalnya Wilkins.
Baca juga : Davide Astori Meninggal Dunia, Seluruh Pertandingan Serie A Dibatalkan
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. pic.twitter.com/cSDhloOPDZ
The description “gentleman” dominated tributes to Ray Wilkins following the death on Wednesday of the former England midfielder.
Wilkins died aged 61 in a south London hospital where he had been treated since collapsing last Friday with cardiac arrest. Terry Butcher spoke for many when he remembered his former England team-mate’s appealing amalgam of manners and competitive edge, dignity and determination.
The real and remarkable Ray Wilkins was always a joy to watch | Richard Williams Read more
“I don’t know anybody that had a bad word to say about Ray – on or off the pitch,” Butcher said. “He was just an absolute gentleman but also a fierce winner. It was an absolute pleasure and a real privilege to play with him. He was such a charismatic character, great in the dressing room, great on the pitch but he wanted football played the right way.”
One of the best footballers of his generation, Wilkins won 84 caps, captaining his country 10 times. In the course of a 24-year club career he played for, most notably, Chelsea, Manchester United, Milan, Rangers and Queens Park Rangers. Retirement prompted stints managing QPR, Fulham and Jordan in addition to serving as a coach at, among others, Chelsea and, most recently, Aston Villa.
Chelsea said they were “devastated to learn of the passing of our former player, captain and assistant coach”. The club, where he had worked alongside Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti, added: “Rest in peace, Ray, you will be dreadfully missed.”
Wilkins, who leaves his wife, Jackie, their two children and six grandchildren, had endured health problems in recent years. He had also struggled with alcohol problems and spent time on a rehabilitation programme at the Priory Hospital in Surrey in 2016 following a four‑year drink-driving ban.
He emerged to return to work as a regular, and popular, football pundit on television and radio and underwent double bypass heart surgery last July.
Quick guide Ray Wilkins – his remarkable playing career in clubs Show Hide Chelsea (1973-1979)
Manchester United (1979-1984)
Milan (1984-1987)
PSG (1987)
Rangers (1987-1989)
QPR (1989-1994)
Crystal Palace (1994)
QPR (1994-1996)
Wycombe (1996)
Hibernian (1996-97)
Millwall (1997)
Leyton Orient (1997) Photograph: David Cannon/David Cannon Collection
News of his death resonated around Europe. Before Wednesday’s Milan derby, Franco Baresi, the Londoner’s former Milan team-mate, led a minute’s evocative applause and laid a bouquet of flowers and a ‘Wilkins 8’ Milan shirt in front of the famous Curva Sud stand.
Ray Wilkins – a life in pictures Read more
Gareth Southgate, the England manager, who briefly played with Wilkins at Crystal Palace, said: “When Ray played with us you could immediately see that his technical ability to play the ball was phenomenal. In the modern game, those attributes would have been appreciated far more than they were at that time, so he really was a top, top player.
“He would have been one of the earliest to go abroad and play in the Italian league. At the time it was at a really high level, so being able to transition into a club like AC Milan and be as popular as he was there speaks volumes for his ability. Ray was also an absolute gent – a class act.”
Sir Alex Ferguson recalled a man noted for treating everyone as equals as well as for a “fantastic talent”. The former Manchester United manager said: “Ray always had a kind word and time for people.”
Frank Lampard, the former Chelsea midfielder who was coached by Wilkins, said: “Ray was a great player and an even greater man. Full of kindness and humility, with impeccable manners at all times. He had respect and time for everyone and to me he was a mentor and a friend. I’m not sure they make them like Ray any more.”
Ray Wilkins obituary Read more
Gary Lineker had encountered similar traits in the younger Wilkins during their England days. “It was a pleasure to have played alongside him,” he said. “No team-mate was more helpful and supportive. I’ll be forever grateful.”
Peter Reid offered perhaps the best summation of the consensus. “Ray was an absolutely outstanding human being,” said Wilkins’s former fellow national midfielder. “Ray’s legacy would be: ‘Win, lose or draw, you’ve always got to have class.’”
Ray Wilkins, who has died aged 61 after a cardiac arrest, was one of England’s most capped footballers, appearing 84 times for his country between 1976 and 1986 and playing in two World Cups.
A graceful central midfielder who captained the side on 10 occasions, he made his biggest domestic impacts at Chelsea and Manchester United, winning the FA Cup with the latter in 1983 before spending three years at Milan, where he became part of a mid-1980s trend for Italian clubs to recruit players from English clubs. He was then signed in Scotland by Rangers, winning a league title there during a successful two-year spell before seeing out his career in the top flight of English football with Queens Park Rangers. He swiftly moved into management, initially in full charge at QPR and Fulham and later as an assistant at various clubs, including Chelsea and Watford.
Although he may not have been the most exciting midfielder to have played for his country, Wilkins’ 84 England caps – only 13 players have collected more – are a powerful indication of his skill and reliability. He rarely played a bad game under his three national managers – Don Revie, Ron Greenwood and Bobby Robson – who could rely upon him for neat, composed performances even under the greatest of pressure.
If England fans periodically complained of a lack of ambition in his passing (he was known as “the crab” for his sideways inclinations), he could just as often be incisive. And though he was never a prolific goalscoring midfielder, when he did put one in the net it was usually an effort of top quality. His goal against Belgium in the 1980 European Championship – when he lobbed the ball over an outrushing defence, skipped through to collect it and then also lobbed the keeper – was one of the finest ever scored by an England player.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ray Wilkins scores against Belgium in the 1980 European Championship
Wilkins was born in Hillingdon, west London, to George, a footballer at four clubs – including Brentford and Nottingham Forest – and his wife, Wyn. One of six children, Ray, who was known as Butch from an early age, had three brothers – Graham, Stephen and Dean – who all played professional football. He made his own debut for First Division Chelsea as a 17-year-old in 1973, and the following year was made the club’s youngest ever captain at 18. By 1976 he was playing for England, and during a period at Stamford Bridge when the team was twice relegated from the top flight, he nevertheless became a star player.
After six years and 179 league games he was signed by the former Chelsea manager Dave Sexton to Manchester United in 1979, forming a formidable midfield combination with his England colleague Bryan Robson. Under Sexton’s successor, Ron Atkinson, Wilkins won an FA Cup winners’ medal in 1983, scoring with a long-range curler in the 72nd minute to give United a 2-1 lead in the final against Brighton. The match ended 2-2 and United won the replay 4-0.
His stock now at its highest, Wilkins was signed by Milan for a British record £1.5m at the end of the following season, joining other England players such as Trevor Francis and Luther Blissett in the Italian game. Although he acquitted himself well over three seasons at the San Siro, it proved to be an unusually lean time at Milan, and no honours were accrued from his 105 appearances for the club.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ray Wilkins during a Chelsea v Wolverhampton Wanderers match, 1976. Photograph: Colorsport/Rex/Shutterstock
Having been a fixture in the England side more or less since his debut, Wilkins had played in the 1982 World Cup finals in Spain, appearing in all five matches as England went out at the second-group stage. While playing at Milan four years later he was an integral part of the squad at the 1986 World Cup finals in Mexico, where England were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Diego Maradona’s “hand of God” goal.
By that point, however, Wilkins was languishing on the sidelines, having been sent off in a group game against Morocco for throwing the ball at the referee. It was an uncharacteristic action from a man who rarely courted trouble on or off the field – indeed it was the first and only sending-off of his career. He was banned for the next two games and failed to regain his place in the side for the Argentina match. He played only twice more for England, his last cap in a European Championship qualifier against Yugoslavia in November 1986.
Wilkins left Milan in 1987, spending four months with Paris St Germain before moving to Rangers, whose collection of English players included Terry Butcher, Chris Woods and Gary Stevens. Wilkins was a popular figure at Ibrox, helping the club to win the Scottish League and League Cup double in 1988-89. But after two years he was on his way down south to QPR.
From 1989 to 1996 he played almost as many league games at Loftus Road – more than 150 – as he had either at Chelsea or Manchester United, and from late 1994, after having been made an MBE, he was player-manager at the club, guiding them to eighth place in the Premier League in their 1994-95 season. But the following campaign QPR were relegated and he was sacked.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ray Wilkins appearing for Manchester United against Brighton in 1979. Photograph: Colorsport/Rex/Shutterstock
Wilkins continued as a player until he was 40, with brief spells at Wycombe Wanderers, Hibernian, Millwall and Leyton Orient before retiring at the end of the 1996–97 season to become manager of Second Division Fulham. He took them to the play-offs in his first season but the Fulham chairman, Mohamed Al Fayed, sacked him before the first of the play-off games, and so he moved to Chelsea as assistant manager to Gianluca Vialli.
After two years there he was an assistant at Watford (with Vialli), Millwall (Dennis Wise) and England Under-21s (Peter Taylor), before returning to Chelsea in 2008 as assistant to Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink and then Carlo Ancelotti, under whom Chelsea won the League and FA Cup double.
Although Ancelotti declared that “without Ray we wouldn’t have won a thing”, in 2010 Wilkins was sacked by the club unexpectedly, a move that hit him hard. He found refuge in broadcasting work as an articulate, precise and softly spoken analyst at Sky and talkSPORT, before becoming Fulham’s assistant manager (2013-14), national manager of Jordan (2014-15) and finally assistant at Aston Villa for a brief spell in 2015.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ray Wilkins as Chelsea assistant manager, with the manager Carlo Ancelotti, at Craven Cottage before a match between Fulham and Chelsea in 2009. Photograph: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
In 2016 he received a four-year ban for a third drink-driving offence, and spent some time being treated for depression and a drink problem. Widely regarded as one of football’s “nice men”, he explained that his sackings at various clubs had exacted a personal toll. “Footballers who think they are something special are making a terrible mistake,” he said. “I always told my kids I’m nobody but their dad. But I just don’t cope well with rejection.”
He is survived by his wife, Jackie (nee Bygraves), whom he married in 1978, their children, Ross and Jade, and grandchildren, Oliver, Frankie, Ava, Freddie, Jake and Archie.
• Raymond Colin Wilkins, footballer, born 14 September 1956; died 4 April 2018
