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October 10, 2024 – 12:35 a.m.
ATHENS (Reuters) – The body of British Panathinaikos and Greece defender George Baldock was found in a swimming pool at his home in Glyfada, a southern suburb of Athens, on Wednesday, police sources said.
The cause of death remained unknown.
Police attempted CPR on the 31-year-old former Premier League player but were unable to revive him, a police official said.
The time of death was put at 10 p.m. (7 p.m. GMT).
Baldock, who was of Greek descent and was capped 12 times for the country, joined Panathinaikos in May from Sheffield United after the English side were relegated from the top flight.
He also played for lower league teams MK Dons and Oxford United.
Sheffield United have said they are shocked and extremely saddened by the death of a popular player who spent seven years at Bramall Lane, and other English clubs have offered their condolences.
Baldock made four appearances for Panathinaikos, including a 0-0 draw against local rivals Olympiakos at the weekend, but was not selected in Greece’s Nations League squad for a match against England at Wembley on Thursday.
England and Manchester United defender Harry Maguire, a former Sheffield United player, posted a photo of Baldock on Instagram with a broken heart emoji and an RIP.
“It is with deep sadness and pain that the national team and the Hellenic Football Federation say goodbye to George Baldock,” the Greek team said on Facebook.
“There are no words to describe the human pain caused by the news of the premature loss of one of our young people. The moment calls for silence. Condolences to his family. Condolences from his second family. Bye.”
(Writing by Alan Baldwin in London, reporting by Yannis Souliotis and Renee Maltezou, editing by Ed Osmond and Toby Davis)
