BREAKING: Liverpool legend who became first Welsh European Cup winner dies aged 70

Former Liverpool and Wrexham player Joey Jones has passed away at the age of 70.

The full-back, who also turned out for Chelsea and Huddersfield, won 72 caps for Wales between 1975 and 1986. He won the European Cup with Liverpool in back-to-back seasons in the 1970s, becoming the first Welshman to do so.

Fellow Liverpool legend tweeted John Aldridge wrote on X: "More sad news folks Joey Jones passed away last night. What a lovely man and an inspirational full back who gave his heart and soul in a red shirt and for all the clubs he played for!

"Our thoughts are with Joey's family! I'm a lucky man to have met him many times. YNWA RIP topman."

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Jones started his career with Wrexham, where he caught the eye of legendary Liverpool manager Bob Paisley. The Reds paid Wrexham £110,000 for his services in 1975 and he quickly established himself in the side.

In 1977 he became the first Welshman to receive a European Cup winners medal when Liverpool beat Borussia Monchengladbach 3–1 in the final.

That triumph - and Jones' involvement in it - was made famous by a banner that Liverpool fans made to mark the occasion in Rome.

After beating Saint-Etienne in the quarter-finals and Zurich in the semi-finals, the Reds fans unfurled a banner which read: 'Joey Ate The Frogs Legs, Made The Swiss Roll, Now He's Munching Gladbach'.

Jones stayed for three years at Anfield, also winning the First Division and UEFA Cup, before crossing the border to return to Wrexham. His £210,000 transfer fee was a club-record which remarkably stood until 2022, when Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds bought Ollie Palmer.

He went on to play for Chelsea and Huddersfield before returning to north Wales to end his playing career with a third stint at Wrexham. In total he made 479 appearances for Wrexham, where he stands as a club legend.

Ian Bryne, the MP for Liverpool West Derby, tweeted: "Rest in power the legend that was Joey Jones. #YNWA."