Former Paris Saint-Germain footballer Modeste M’Bami dies due to heart attack

He was 40.

" Paris Saint-Germain is in mourning. Modeste Mbami has passed away at the age of 40, after suffering a heart attack," the club said in a statement.

The Cameroonian midfielder joined Paris Saint-Germain in 2003, after wearing the colours of the Académie Kadji Sport, and then Dynamo Douala in Cameroun.

M’Bami established his name in the world of football at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, with the golden goal in the quarter-finals against the favourites: Ronaldinho's Brazil.

Sedan and France welcomed the ambitious 18 year-old, who joined Paris after 3 seasons in Ardennes

In Paris, M’Bami became a key member of the team and he went on to win two Coupes de France (2004 and 2006).

After a long period out after a serious injury suffered at CSKA Moscow on 7 December 2004, he returned to the starting eleven in 2005-2006, for his third season in the capital, before deciding to leave Paris and sign for OM.

3 years in Marseille, then to Spain (Almeria), China (Dalian Aerbin, Changchun Yatai), Saudi Arabia (Al-Ittihad, Al Fateh) and Colombia (Millonarios FC in 2014), before returning to France, with Le Havre in Ligue 2.

He ended his playing career in 2016, at the age of 35, when he headed back to Cameroon, where he organised recruitment days for young footballers in Africa. He returned to Le Havre, where he tragically died on Saturday 7 January.