Former England striker Greaves dies

Jimmy Greaves, one of England’s most prolific strikers, has died at the age of 81, Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur said on Sunday.

Greaves, who suffered a stroke six years ago, started his career with Chelsea and scored a then club-record 124 league goals for the London club between 1957 and 1961.

He is Tottenham’s record goal scorer with 266 goals, having played for them from 1961-1970. His 37 league goals in the 1962/1963 season remains a club record.

Greaves scored 44 goals in 57 internationals, making him the country’s fourth-highest scorer behind Wayne Rooney, Bobby Charlton and Gary Lineker.

He played in England’s three group games at the 1966 World Cup before getting injured. He was replaced by Geoff Hurst who famously scored a hat-trick in the 4-2 final win over West Germany at Wembley.

Greaves missed out on a winner’s medal because they were only awarded to the 11 players who played in the final, though he belatedly received one in 2009.

Tottenham said in a statement that Greaves, who also had a short spell with Italian club AC Milan, died at his home in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Greaves scored for Tottenham in the 1962 FA Cup final as they retained the trophy and he netted twice in the European Cup Winners Cup final victory in 1963. He won another FA Cup with Spurs in 1967.

Greaves’s record of 357 goals in the English top flight remains unsurpassed 50 years after he retired as a professional in 1971.