Chris Bart-Williams dies aged 49 as tributes flood in for former Premier League star

The 49-year-old midfielder Chris Bart-Williams, formerly of Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday, passed away.

Having been born in Sierra Leone, Bart-Williams played 16 seasons in the Premier League throughout his 16-year professional career. He also got one England ‘B’ cap and 16 England Under-21 caps.

He made his breakthrough at Leyton Orient before joining Wednesday in 1991 for a then-club-record £275k. After making 156 appearances and scoring 24 goals with the Owls, he moved to Forest in 1995 for a reported £2.5 million.

He would play at the City Ground for six and a half years, appearing in 245 games and scoring 35 goals.

He also had stints at Maltese team Marsaxlokk, APOEL in Cyprus, Ipswich Town, and Charlton Athletic.

their website, Sheffield Wednesday offered their condolences, saying, “We are very sorry to hear about the demise of our former player, Chris Bart-Williams. Bart Williams passed away in America at the age of 49.

“Bart-Williams’ sudden death is similar to that of Trevor Francis, his boss at Hillsborough, who also passed away on this, one of the worst days in our long history.

“Our thoughts are with Chris’ and Trevor’s families and friends at this devastating time.”

Mark Crossley, a former teammate at Nottingham Forest, also honored Bart-Williams and Francis on social media.

Crossley said, “Devastating and I’m so upset to hear the news of Trevor Francis passing and my former team mate Chris Bart Williams, both so young, it is so sad , RIP Trevor and Chris.”

ex-Everton and Arsenal

Bart-Williams has been working in the US for the past few years, managing CBW Soccer Elite, where he lives with his wife Eva and coaches and mentors young football players in addition to recruiting for universities.

In 2018, he stated to Mirror Football, “It would be a shame to waste all of this professional football experience that I have.”

“As a coach, I go out onto the field and work with youngsters who aspire to play on their high school team, in college, or as professionals. However, we also provide them with mentoring off the field. That is equally significant.

“We also help students discover the suitable clubs or institutions as part of our recruitment effort. Both domestically and abroad, we hire. We wish to assist.