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An emotional Micah Richards pays tribute to Matija Sarkic following the Millwall goalkeeper’s tragic death

Former Aston Villa defender Micah Richards has paid an emotional tribute to Matija Sarkic following the Millwall goalkeeper’s tragic death on Saturday. Richards, whose time at Villa overlapped with Sarkic’s, spoke during coverage of the Italy vs Albania Euro 2024 Match of the Day on a tragic day for football when Arsenal and Everton striker Kevin Campbell he also died.

Montenegro international Sarkic also played for Birmingham City and Wolverhampton Wanderers after leaving Villa in 2020, five years after joining Belgian club Anderlecht. Sarkic, whose father was a Montenegrin diplomat, was born in Grimsby and also had loan spells with Stoke City, Shrewsbury Town and Wigan Athletic during his time with Villa and Wolves.

Millwall released a statement on Saturday morning, which read: “Millwall Football Club is completely devastated to announce that Matija Sarkic has passed away at the age of 26. Sarkic, The Lions’ number one goalkeeper, has made 33 appearances for the club since joining from Wolverhampton Wanderers in August 2023. “A Montenegro international, Matija has proudly represented his country on numerous occasions.

“Everyone at the club sends their love and condolences to Matija’s family and friends at this extremely sad time. “The club will make no further comment at this time and ask that the privacy of Matija’s family be respected.”

Sarkic’s twin brother Oliver, also a footballer, shared a photo of the two on his Instagram account with a love heart emoji. Richards, meanwhile, discussed his time with the Villa goalkeeper, with the pundit paying an emotional tribute to Sarkic.

“He was a young man who was coming to Aston Villa, trained with the first team and when I got the news I was absolutely devastated,” said Richards. “Only 26, gone too soon. I’ve been a bit down all day thinking about it, to be totally honest. I just want to send my condolences to his family.”

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