Graeme Souness has paid an emotional tribute to his friend Gianluca Vialli, who has died aged 58, describing the Italian as a “gorgeous soul”.
Vialli enjoyed a successful career first in Italy with Sampdoria and Juventus, whom he captained to the Champions League, and later at Chelsea where he became manager and a hugely popular figure. He also played 59 times for Italy, and was working in the national team setup before taking a step back in December when the pancreatic cancer which was first diagnosed in 2017 reemerged.
Souness played alongside Vialli at Sampdoria during the 1980s, and paid tribute to him on Sky Sports News.
“I can't tell you how good a guy he was. Forget football, he was just a gorgeous soul. He was just a truly nice human being. He was just fabulous to be around. He was such a fun-loving guy, full of mischief, wonderful footballer and a warm human being.
“People will say things about his magnificent football ability, and correctly so, but above all that what a human being. My condolences go to his family - the kids were blessed to have a dad like that, his wife was blessed to be married to a man like that.”
Before breaking down in tears, Souness added: “I’m no doctor but when I looked at him I thought I saw a man who was still in the fight when he was here [in the UK] during the Euros and they [Italy] managed to win it. I think it’s so typical of him that he kept it very private, very personal, it was his fight, he didn’t want to burden other people with it.”
Sampdoria tweeted “Goodbye, Luca” alongside a picture of Vialli during his playing days at the club, where he won the Italian title in 1991 as well as the Uefa Cup Winners’ Cup and the Italian Cup three times.
