Heaven receives the “Napoléon del Fútbol”: Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Former Real Madrid and France playmaker Raymond Kopa has died at the age of 85, Reims – the French club where he was honorary president – have confirmed.
Kopa, who won three European Cups alongside the likes of Ferenc Puskas and Alfredo Di Stefano in the 1950s, had been hospitalised in the French town of Angers since Sunday.
The first French winner of the Ballon d’Or in 1958 after being named the best player of that year’s World Cup, Kopa was born in northern France in October 1931, the son of Polish immigrants who had left their native land to work in French mines.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan also reflected to Kopa’s death on his Twitter microblog,
“Heaven receives the “Napoléon del Fútbol” Raymond #Kopa RIP.”
By Sirarpi Aghababyan
