Tributes have poured in on social media following the untimely death of Millwall goalkeeper Matija Sarkic aged just 26.
Born in Grimsby to a Montenegrin father and English mother, Sarkic was on international duty when he collapsed after falling ill before passing away on Saturday morning.
Sarkic’s twin brother Oliver played alongside him in Anderlecht’s youth academy, and Matija had attended his wedding just one week ago.
In the wake of Matija’s passing, Oliver shared a photo of the brothers sharing a moment together with a heart emoji on his Instagram story.
Stan Collymore wrote on X: ‘Truly awful news of the death of Millwall and Montenegro goalkeeper, Matija Sarkic aged only 26.
Tributes have poured in for Matija Sarkic after the Millwall goalkeeper passed away aged 26
Matija’s twin brother, former Blackpool midfielder Oliver, shared a picture of the pair together on his social media
The brothers began their footballing careers together in the academy of Belgian club Anderlecht
‘A young man with everything in front of him, puts everything into perspective. Sending sincerest condolences to his family.’
An announcement on Milwall’s official website read: ‘Millwall Football Club is completely devastated to announce that Matija Sarkic has passed away at the age of 26.
‘Sarkic, The Lions’ number one goalkeeper, made 33 appearances for the club since joining from Wolverhampton Wanderers in August 2023.
‘A Montenegro international, Matija proudly represented his country on numerous occasions.
‘Everyone at the club sends their love and condolences to Matija’s family and friends at this immensely sad time.
‘The club will make no further comment at this time and asks that the privacy of Matija’s family is respected,’ the statement concluded.
Sarkic’s former club Aston Villa wrote on social media: ‘Everyone at Aston Villa is deeply saddened by news of the passing of our former goalkeeper Matija Sarkic.
‘Matija joined our Academy in 2015 and spent five years with the club, during which time he made his full international debut for Montenegro, before departing in the summer of 2020.
‘The thoughts and condolences of all at the club are with his family and friends at this incredibly sad time.
After beginning his career with Anderlecht, Sarkic first signed pro forms with Villa in 2017.
Sarkic’s former clubs paid tribute to the goalkeeper in the wake of his tragic passing
It was during his time in the West Midlands that Sarkic would get his first taste of senior football with loan spells at Wigan, Stratford Town, Havant & Waterlooville and Livingston.
Sarkic moved to Wolves in 2020 but again spent much of his time out on loan, enjoying spells with Shrewsbury, Birmingham and Stoke before joining Millwall permanently last summer.
The goalkeeper had played the full 90 minutes of Montenegro’s friendly with Belgium last week, and was named man of the match for his performance in a 2-0 defeat to Belgium.
