Trevor John Francis (19 April 1954 – 24 July 2023) was an English footballer who played as a forward for a number of clubs in England, the United States, Italy, Scotland and Australia. In 1979 he became Britain's first £1 million player following his transfer from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest. He scored the winning goal for Forest in the 1979 European Cup final against Malmö. He won the European Cup again with the club the following year. At international level, he played for England 52 times between 1976 and 1986, scoring 12 goals, and played at the 1982 FIFA World Cup.
Between 1988 and 2003, Francis was manager of Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday, Birmingham City and Crystal Palace.
Trevor John Francis was born on 19 April 1954 in Plymouth, Devon. His father, Roy, was a shift foreman with the local gas board and played football semi-professionally, his mother, Phyllis, did part-time sewing and tailoring, and he had two younger siblings. Francis was educated at Pennycross primary school and Plymouth's Public Secondary School for Boys. As a schoolboy, he was a prolific goalscorer; at 14, he attended a Football Association course at the National Sports Centre at Bisham Abbey, and he joined Birmingham City as a 15-year-old school-leaver.
Francis quickly rose in status, making his debut for Birmingham City's first team in 1970, aged just 16. His talent was noted when, before his 17th birthday, he scored four goals in a match against Bolton Wanderers. He ended his first season with 15 goals from just 22 games. Birmingham City manager at the time, Freddie Goodwin, compared Francis to both Jimmy Greaves and Denis Law.
On 30 October 1976, he scored one of Birmingham's most famous goals, when he turned away from the touchline and cut inside two Queens Park Rangers defenders, constantly being forced backwards, before suddenly unleashing a 25-yard (23 m) shot.
Francis negotiated a loan from Birmingham in 1978 to play for the Detroit Express in the North American Soccer League (NASL), where he scored 22 goals in 19 league matches and was named in the NASL first XI alongside Franz Beckenbauer and Giorgio Chinaglia before returning home to the Midlands.
Nottingham Forest, the reigning First Division champions and League Cup holders managed by Brian Clough, put in a bid for Francis which totalled just over £1 million. No player had ever been sold between English clubs for a seven-figure fee before (the erstwhile record was less than half), and the deal was sealed, with Francis famously being introduced to the media by a manager impatient to play squash; Clough was in his red gym kit and carrying a racquet as he addressed the press conference.
While recognised as the first British million-pound player, the actual transfer fee for the player was £1,150,000, including 15% commission to the Football League. Clough wrote in his autobiography that the fee was £999,999, as he wanted to ensure the million-pound milestone did not go to the player's head; although Francis says that was a tongue-in-cheek remark by Clough.
Nottingham Forest retained the League Cup shortly afterwards without the cup-tied Francis, and made progress in the European Cup to the extent that they reached the semi-finals, although Francis was not eligible to play in the competition until the final. They won their semi-final, and in May 1979 Forest took on Swedish club Malmö in the final in Munich, and a major instalment of the huge investment money was repaid just before half time.
The ball was spread to Forest's winger John Robertson wide on the left and he took on two defenders at once to reach the byline and curl an awkward, outswinging cross towards the far post. Francis had already begun to sprint into position, but even so he had to increase his pace in order to reach the cross as it dropped, and ended up throwing himself low at the ball. He connected with his head and the ball diverted powerfully into the roof of the net. Forest won the match 1–0 and footage of the goal was used in the opening titles to Match of the Day for some years afterwards. A giant picture of Francis stooping to head the ball remains on display in the main entrance and reception area of Forest's City Ground stadium.
Even though the season ended there, Francis duly headed back to Detroit for another summer playing in the NASL, where once again he was named to the first XI alongside Johan Cruyff (Los Angeles Aztecs) and Giorgio Chinaglia (New York Cosmos), despite playing only half the season. In his brief NASL career, Francis scored 36 goals in 33 regular season matches and had 18 assists.
At Nottingham Forest Clough frequently played Francis on the right wing, rather than in his preferred position as a central attacker. Francis was in the side which lost the 1980 League Cup Final to Wolverhampton Wanderers, but missed the European Cup Final against Hamburg due to an injury to his Achilles tendon. Somehow the success of his Forest career never quite reflected his huge fee: he scored only 14 league goals in the 1979–80 season and 6 in the next 18 games that he played for Forest. Although still a regular for England, his Achilles injury prevented him being in the squad for the 1980 European Championships.
The injury kept Francis out of the game for over six months. He was sold to Manchester City in September 1981, this time for £1.2 million. The deal caused behind-the-scenes friction at Manchester City. During negotiations City chairman Peter Swales informed manager John Bond that the club could not afford the transfer fee. Bond then issued an ultimatum: if Francis did not sign, Bond would resign. Francis made a promising start at the club, scoring two goals against Stoke City on his debut, but over the course of the season he was frequently injured. In total he scored 12 goals in 26 games and made the England squad for the 1982 World Cup.
Back at his club, financial problems were again an issue. Francis' contract gave him a salary of £100,000 plus bonuses, which the club could no longer afford to pay to a player who regularly sustained injuries.
Later that summer, Francis was approached by Italian club Sampdoria, who paid Manchester City £700,000 for his services. He helped win the 1984–85 Coppa Italia, in the same team as Scotland midfielder Graeme Souness, by scoring 9 goals in 11 games (top scorer of the Cup). It was the first time that Sampdoria had won the competition.
Francis joined Atalanta in 1986. He played 21 league games and scored once in his only season, but added two goals in nine games in the Coppa Italia; Atalanta lost the final to Napoli. He was the second Englishman at the Bergamo-based club after Gerry Hitchens, and by the time of his death their only other English-born player was Ademola Lookman.
Francis returned to Britain in September 1987 to join Rangers under Graeme Souness. Numerous English players were brought to the Scottish club by Souness as English clubs had been banned from European competition since the Heysel disaster. Francis cost just £75,000, signed on a "pay-as-you-play" basis, and won the 1987–88 Scottish League Cup, scoring a penalty in the shootout.
Francis signed for Queens Park Rangers on a free transfer in March 1988 and helped the team finish fifth in the First Division. He scored 10 goals from 26 appearances in the first half of the 1988–89 season and took over as player-manager in December 1988 when Jim Smith moved to Newcastle United, but a knee injury in January 1989 put an end to his playing season. He marked his return to the field in September 1989 with a hat-trick against Aston Villa, but was replaced as manager by Don Howe in November 1989 and his playing contract was paid up a few days later.