- Mbami succumbed to a heart attack at his France home
The former midfielder represented PSG and Olympique de Marseille
The 40-year-old won the 2000 Olympics gold with Cameroon
WHAT HAPPENED? The 2000 Olympic champion succumbed to a heart attack at the age of 40 in Le Havre where he has been living since his retirement from football in 2015.
No further details have been provided regarding the former Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain, Le Havre and Almeria midfielder's passing, although his former teams have posted messages of condolence.
M'bami is best remembered for scoring the Golden Goal against Brazil in the quarter-finals of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia when the Indomitable Lions won the gold medal.
WHAT DID THEY SAY? “PSG [are] in mourning. Modeste Mbami has just left us, at the age of 40, after succumbing to a heart attack,” PSG said on Twitter.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: The midfielder played 37 times for Cameroon between 2000 and 2009, scoring three goals, and was part of the Indomitable Lions team that reached the 2003 Confederations Cup final before losing to France.
M'bami was playing in the Cameroon midfield alongside Marc Vivien Foe when the latter passed away from a cardiac arrest during the Lions' 2003 Confederation Cup semi-final victory over Colombia.
Yaounde-born M'bami started his career at Dynamo Douala before moving to France, initially with CS Sedan Ardennes, after which he joined PSG and then Marseille. He also featured for Spanish side Almeria, Changchun Yatai in China and Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad before ending his career at Le Havre.
Mbami won the French Cup twice with PSG in 2004 and 2006 as well as the King’s Cup in Saudi Arabia with A-Ittihad in 2013.