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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Ewan Paton

Celtic pay emotional tribute to Frank McGarvey following sad passing

Celtic have paid an emotional tribute to the late Frank McGarvey.

It was announced by his family this lunchtime that the former Scotland international had sadly died aged 66.

The ex-Hoops and St Mirren striker was diagnosed with cancer in October last year.

Tributes to the Celtic great have been flooding in on social media since the sad announcement.

Now, the Parkhead club have paid theirs to one of the club's all-time heroes.

A Celtic statement reads: "Everyone at Celtic is extremely saddened to hear of the death of former striker, Frank McGarvey, who passed away earlier this morning (January 1) at the age of 66.

"Frank spoke to supporters at Celtic Park ahead of the game against Hibernian back in October to thank them for all their support over the years, and in particular, more recently following the news that he was battling cancer.

"Frank’s career as a professional footballer began with St Mirren in 1975, and he spent four years with the Paisley before moving south to join Liverpool.

"After 10 months at Anfield, he returned to Scotland, signing for his beloved Celtic in March 1980 for a fee of around £270,000, becoming, for a short time, became Scotland's most expensive footballer.

"Over the next five years, Frank went on to play 245 times for Celtic, scoring 109 goals, and he is one of only 30 players in Celtic’s history to have scored at least a century of goals for the club.

"He won two league titles, two Scottish Cups and the League Cup with Celtic, and is fondly remembered for his wonderful diving header goal to win the Scottish Cup in 1985.

"He would go on to win the Scottish Cup again with St Mirren in 1987, having returned to the Paisley club for a second spell.

"Frank would later have spells playing with Queen of the South, Clyde, Shotts Bon Accord and Troon, and at international level, he gained seven caps for Scotland.

"The thoughts and prayers of everyone at Celtic are with Frank’s family at this extremely sad time.

"Rest in peace, Frank. You'll Never Walk Alone."

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