Kalvin Phillips and Stuart Dallas were among the enormity of players to pay tribute to Sol Bamba after it was confirmed the former Leeds United captain had died aged 39.
News emerged on Saturday evening that Bamba had passed after falling ill in Turkey, where he had been working as a technical director at Turkish second-tier side Adanaspor before his death on Saturday night.
Bamba, who was just 39 at the time of his death, had recovered from non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2021. That didn’t stop the towering centre-back from returning to football with Middlesbrough after his battle.
Bamba leaves behind a glittering career that saw him play in a number of different countries. He began life as a professional footballer at PSG, playing one game before a move to Scottish side Dunfermline.
His form at Dunfermline earned him a move to Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership before Leicester came calling in 2010. Trabzonspor came next, before one game at Palermo and then a move to Leeds.
Dallas says Leeds icon Bamba had an ‘amazing personality’
Six months prior to Dallas‘ move to Elland Road from Brentford, Bamba had joined Leeds. He went on to play 56 times for Leeds over the course of the next two years, even captaining Leeds under Uwe Rosler.
Garry Monk signed Kyle Bartley and Pontus Jansson, and it saw Bamba released by Leeds after the close of the summer window in 2016. He joined Cardiff and stayed there for five years, before Middlesbrough.
Dallas and Bamba shared a dressing room for much of the defender’s 18-month spell at Elland Road, and the now-retired Leeds icon took to his Instagram story following the death of his former Leeds teammate.
He said: “An amazing personality both on and off the pitch. A giant of a man who’s energy always lit up the room. I really hope your family can take comfort from reading all of the tributes. RIP Sol.”
Phillips ‘devastated’ by the tragic passing of Bamba this weekend
Just as Bamba joined as a senior, towering centre-back with experience of Scottish, Italian, French, English and Turkish football, there was a young lad breaking into the Leeds side by the name of Kalvin Phillips.
By the time Bamba had left, Phillips had not even played 20 senior matches for Leeds but clearly, Bamba left a big impression on a young midfielder that would eventually make it to the top of English football.
On-loan Ipswich star Phillips posted a touching message on his Instagram story: “Devastated to hear this news! One of the nicest guys I’ve ever had the privilege to play with”.
Receive a digest of our best Leeds content each week direct to your mailbox
