Jimmy Greaves: Former England, Tottenham and Chelsea striker dies aged 81

Jimmy Greaves, the former England, Tottenham and Chelsea striker, has died at the age of 81.

Greaves is Spurs' record goalscorer having netted 266 times in 379 games for the north London club. His 37 league goals in the 1962/63 season remains a club record.

He was also a member of England's World Cup-winning squad in 1966, and ended his international career with 44 goals in just 57 caps.

He passed away at home in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Greaves began his career at Chelsea and scored on his debut - against Spurs - in 1957.

He spent four years as a professional with the Blues, and scored 41 goals in the First Division in 1960/61 - another club record.

Greaves then moved to AC Milan but struggled to settle in Italy - despite an impressive scoring record - and swiftly returned to England with Tottenham in 1961, where he scored a hat-trick on his debut against Blackpool.

The striker also found the net in Spurs' FA Cup final win in 1962 and their European Cup Winners' Cup final victory - the first European trophy won by an English club - in 1963. He won another FA Cup with Spurs in 1967.

Greaves then joined West Ham in 1970 before ended his professional career, aged 31, a year later.

His 366 goals during his time in England and Italy made him the top scorer in Europe's top five leagues until he was eclipsed by Cristiano Ronaldo during the 2016/17 season.

Greaves' 44 England goals make him his country's fourth-highest scorer. Although he did not play in the 1966 final win over West Germany, he finally received a World Cup winners' medal in 2009 after a long campaign.

He was also awarded an MBE in 2020.

Greaves is survived by his wife Irene and four children, plus their 10 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

England's goalscoring 'genius' who missed their greatest triumph

By PA Media

To many he will be remembered as the bewildered, besuited figure on the Wembley touchline as all around him erupted with joy in the moment of England's 1966 World Cup win.

To others of a certain era, it is his jocular co-hosting of a Saturday lunchtime television show which will last longest in the memory.

But for anyone inclined to scour the record books, Jimmy Greaves will go down in history as quite simply one of the greatest out-and-out goalscorers of his or any other generation.

Sir Geoff Hurst, who replaced Greaves in the 1966 team and scored a hat-trick in the final triumph over West Germany, says Greaves was simply the greatest English forward there has ever been.

"There have been some great players but forwards are judged on goals, and there's nobody who could touch him," Hurst told the PA news agency in February 2020.

"I am asked is there any animosity between Jimmy and I, because I took his place? But not for one second.

"You hear the term genius, and it is the one word which applies to Jimmy."

'The finest marksman the country has ever seen'

Tributes for Greaves flooded in on Sunday morning following the news of his death, with Spurs describing him as "the finest marksman this country has ever seen".

The club added: "He was a natural goalscorer, always in the right place at the right time to add the finishing touch to another well-worked move, while he could also create his own goals, as he did on numerous occasions by gliding past defenders and passing the ball into the back of the net.

"He possessed immaculate ball control, great balance and such composure in front of goal that he rarely spurned an opportunity.

"Football will not see his like again."

Chelsea, where Greaves began his career, hailed him as the "finest goalscorer" to play for the club.

"Chelsea Football Club mourns the loss of a truly remarkable player and one of our own," a statement read. "Our thoughts and sympathies are with Jimmy Greaves' family and friends at this time of their sad loss.