Former Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz dies of coronavirus - MW

Lorenzo Sanz, the president who led Real Madrid to the 1998 European Cup after a 32-year wait, has died aged 76 die of coronavirus. Sanz, who had initially chosen to stay at home so as not to contribute to the saturation of Spain’s beleaguered health service, was admitted to hospital on Tuesday after eight days of fever. A test carried out there confirmed that he had contracted Covid-19. As well as respiratory problems he suffered kidney failure because of an infection and died on Saturday night.

Sanz’s son Lorenzo Jr, who played basketball for Real Madrid, had informed people of his father’s worsening condition on Wednesday night. “We have to wait 24 hours but because of his age the situation is very complicated,” he wrote on social media. “The hardest thing is not being able to see him.”

On Saturday night, Sanz's other son, Fernando, who played football for the club, announced his death. Sanz became the first high profilecoronavirus death in Spain, adding to 1,326 confirmed by the government in the middle of the afternoon.

A former director, Sanz became president of Real Madrid in 1995 and served until 2000. He signed players like Davor Suker, Pedrag Mijatovic, Roberto Carlos and Clarence Seedorf for the club, as did Steve McManaman and Nicolas Anelka, turning the French into the world's most expensive player at the time when he joined for £ 22.3 million from Arsenal in 1999.

In 1998, Madrid finally won the European Cup for the first time since 1966, beating Juventus 1-0 in the final in Amsterdam thanks to a goal from Mijatovic. Séptima or Islamic Saturday, always mentioned without mentioning the competition, has caused the biggest sports celebrations the city has ever seen with about half a million people on the street. Two years later Madrid was the European champion again, but that same summer, Sanz lost the presidential election to Florentino Pérez. Sanz also hosted a championship, a Spanish Super Cup and an Intercontinental Cup.

Sanz was survived by his wife, Mari Luz, two sons Lorenzo, Francisco and Fernando and two daughters Malula and Diana. In a statement, Real Madrid said it would pay homage as soon as the health crisis in Spain allowed.

MW