Former Aston Villa defender Micah Richards has paid an emotional tribute to Matija Sarkic after the Millwall goalkeeper’s tragic death on Saturday. Richards, whose time at Villa overlapped with Sarkic’s, was speaking during Match of the Day’s coverage of Italy vs Albania in Euro 2024 on a tragic day for football with Arsenal and Everton striker Kevin Campbell also passing away.
Montenegro international Sarkic also turned out for Birmingham City and Wolverhampton Wanderers after leaving Villa in 2020, five years after joining the club from Belgian side Anderlecht. Sarkic, whose father was a Montenegrin diplomat, was born in Grimsby and also had loan spells with Stoke City, Shrewsbury Town and Wigan Athletic during his time with Villa and Wolves.
Millwall released a statement on Saturday morning, which 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.”
Sarkic’s twin brother Oliver, also a footballer, shared a photo of them both on his Instagram account with a love heart emoji. Richards, meanwhile, discussed his time with the goalkeeper at Villa with the pundit paying an emotional tribute to Sarkic.
“He was a young lad coming through at Aston Villa, trained with the first team and when I got the news I was absolutely devastated,” Richards said. “Just 26 years of age, gone way too soon. I have been a little bit down all day, thinking about it, to be totally honest. I just want to send my condolences to his family.”