Tons of tributes have followed the sudden demise of former Sheffield United defender George Baldock. This is as the entire football community in Greece and beyond has been thrown into deep shock and mourning by his untimely departure.
Via a social media post, the official Greek football team, which is currently in London for a faceoff with England on Thursday night, requested that UEFA allow them to wear black armbands against England and hold a moment of silence before the game.
Journalists had noticed that following his demise, the Greece team’s website and his club’s social media sites on X and Facebook were filled with tributes to the player.
Amongst many others, was Dele, a former England midfielder and Baldock’s ex-teammate at MK Dons, who likewise, paid tribute to the deceased.
Dele, 28, shared a picture of himself and Baldock on Instagram and captioned it “I love you. Rest in peace, my brother.”
Xclusiveloaded News earlier reported that Baldock, Wednesday, drowned in a swimming pool in his home in the southern Athens suburb of Glyfada.
According to reports, the wife of the Sheffield United stalwart in the Premier League, who is abroad, could not establish contact with him for hours and called the owner of the house where he stays to check on him. It was the resident owner who discovered the lifeless body in the pool five hours after he had died.
A coroner who examined the body dismissed any suspicion of criminal activity around the scene.
While a bottle of Vodka was found around the scene, authorities say that further investigations will be carried out to unravel any other factors that could have led to his death, as an autopsy is also likely to be carried out on the body in the coming days.
Further confirming his death and paying homage to the 31-year-old English-born right-back, his family, in a statement issued on Thursday, said George’s sad demise has left them in shock as they pray to bear what the statement describes as “a terrible loss.”
George Baldock started his career playing at MK Dons in 2009 and played more than 100 times for them. The England-born Greece right-back reportedly joined Panathinaikos in May after seven years with Sheffield United which relegated from the English Premier League to the Championship last season.
