European Cup winner Trevor Francis leaves both 'estranged' sons out of £1.9m will

Britain’s first ever £1million footballer Trevor Francis omitted his sons from his will ahead of his death last year. Francis died aged 69 last year, just two years after his wife, Helen, passed away from breast cancer.

Francis was a European cup winner and the first British player to be signed for a fee of £1million. He left behind as much as £1.9million in his will, but none of it went to sons James and Matthew. Francis is not said to have seen eye-to-eye with his sons, and he admitted as much in his last will and testament, which has now been made public.

Francis wrote: “I wish to make it clear in this my will that I have not included my children as beneficiaries due to the fact that we have become estranged following family differences over the last several months. Neither of my children are financially dependent on me.”

Francis died of a heart attack at his home in Marbella last year, and his sons did attend the funeral service, which was held nearby. With his wife having already passed away, his estate was left to brother Ian and sister Carolyn, who both live in Plymouth. Among his will was an apartment in Marbella.

Francis’ son James was once accused of burgling the home of former Aston Villa star Lee Hendrie due to his fingerprints being found at the scenes, though he was later cleared after it emerged he had been at the house to give a cleaning quote.

Francis said of the situation at the time: “Both my boys were brought up in what I would consider to be the correct way - with strong discipline. I was quite strict with them, they were always polite, well-mannered and always knew when to say please and thank you.

“As you can imagine, this, what has happened, has been very, very difficult for the family. I have known Lee Hendrie for a long, long time and that’s what makes it so extraordinary. We are a very close family, a very loving family but it’s been tough.”