Remembering former England forward Francis Lee

Lee made 330 appearances for City and scored 148 goals during seven years with the club, including one of the goals that won their first European trophy. In a statement, City described him as "a club legend in every sense".

Lee had made his debut for Bolton Wanderers aged 16 and scored 106 goals for his first club, but he is best remembered for his role in a golden period for City under Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison, following his arrival in a club-record £60,000 deal in 1967.

After scoring 16 goals in City’s successful push for the 1968 league title, he then helped them win a trio of cup competitions – the 1969 FA Cup, 1970 League Cup and 1970 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. In the 2-1 Cup Winners’ Cup final victory against Górnik Zabrze, he converted a penalty for City’s second goal as they collected the club’s first European trophy.

Manchester City players and staff pay tribute to Francis Lee at training ahead of their UEFA Champions League Group G match against RB Leipzig Getty Images

Capped 27 times by England, Lee struck 10 goals for his country and was the 35-goal top scorer in the English top flight in 1972/73 – when he hit 15 of them from the penalty spot. After leaving City, he helped Derby County win the league title in 1975.

After becoming a successful businessman, Lee returned to Maine Road, City’s then home, as chairman in 1994 and served in that role for four years.

As a mark of respect, the City squad held a minute’s silence before training on the eve of their Champions League game at Leipzig, with Pep Guardiola and Rúben Dias wearing black armbands in the subsequent pre-match press conference. Both the City and Leipzig players will wear armbands in a further show of respect during Wednesday’s match.