Cristiano Ronaldo and FIFA president Sepp Blatter led the tributes to Eusebio da Silva Ferreira, the legendary Portugal and Benfica top scorer who has died aged 71.
Eusebio, born in Lourenco Marques (now Maputo), Mozambique, on 25 January, 1942, died on Sunday after a cardiac arrest. He had been suffering heart problems for some years.
He scored 733 goals in 745 competitive games over his career, won the European Cup with Benfica in 1962 and was named European Footballer of the Year in 1965.
Ronaldo, Portugal’s current superstar, wrote on his website: “Always eternal, Eusebio, rest in peace.”
The message was accompanied by a picture of the two together. The Real Madrid forward appears certain to establish himself as Portugal’s new record marksman at the World Cup in Brazil.
FIFA president Blatter added his own tribute via Twitter, saying: “Football has lost a legend…Eusebio’s place among the greats will never be taken away. He was a football and FIFA ambassador, who will be sorely missed”.
Among other tributes came from Chelsea’s Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho who said: “Eusebio has been one of the great figures of Portugal. He was an important ambassador for football in values, principles and feelings even after finishing his career. If he were 20 or 30 now, he would still be an amazing player”.