European football mourns Lucien Muller

Muller began his football journey at his home club Bischwiller before making his mark post-World War II with Strasbourg, Toulouse and Stade de Reims. With Reims, he was crowned French champion in 1960 and 1962. On the international stage, he was capped 16 times for France between 1961 and 1964, scoring three goals.

However, the creative midfielder enjoyed the best of his career on the other side of the Pyrenees. He joined Real Madrid in 1962, winning three La Liga titles in a row from 1963 to 1965, but losing the 1964 European Cup final 3-1 to Inter Milan in Vienna. He appeared in 92 games for Real Madrid.

Nicknamed 'El Francés' or 'Le Petit Kopa', Muller spent the next three seasons at FC Barcelona, where he played 88 games and scored four goals, winning the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1966 and the Copa del Rey in 1968. To date, Muller remains the only French player to have played for both Real Madrid and Barcelona.

His love affair with Spain continued after he hung up his boots following a second spell at Reims. Muller coached CD Castellón, Burgos CF, Real Zaragoza, Barcelona and RCD Mallorca, before winning the French Cup at the helm of Monaco during the 1984/85 season, having lost the final the previous year.

In a statement, Monaco sent their "thoughts to his family and loved ones." Real Madrid paid tribute to a "legendary" player of theirs, while Barcelona "expressed sadness" at losing the only Frenchman to date who has both played for and coached at the club.