Former Leeds, Cardiff and Middlesbrough defender Sol Bamba dies at the age of 39 after falling ill before taking charge of Turkish club Adanaspor

Former Cardiff City, Leeds and Ivory Coast defender Sol Bamba has tragically passed away at the age of just 39.

Turkish club Adanaspor A.Ş announced the news in a statement on X, which read: “Our technical director Souleymane Bamba, who fell ill yesterday before the match of Manisa Football Club, was taken to Manisa Celal Bayar University Hospital where he unfortunately lost his fight for life.

“Our condolences to his family and our community.”

He was previously diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a rare form of cancer, on Christmas Eve 2020, but was thought to have been cured.

Real Turkish outlet hast have reported that he ‘fell ill before the match against Manisa FK due to a relapse of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.’

Former Leeds, Cardiff and Middlesbrough defender Sol Bamba tragically passes away at the age of 39

Bamba fell ill before taking charge of a match for Turkish club Adanaspor

The former defender was a popular figure in English football, playing for Leicester City, Leeds, Cardiff City and Middlesbrough.

After retiring in 2022, Bamba moved into coaching, becoming assistant manager at his former club Cardiff, before moving to Turkish club Adanaspor.

The 39-year-old had been the club’s head coach since the summer until his untimely death.

Many of Bamba’s former clubs have already paid tribute to the French-born defender.

Cardiff City, where he played the majority of his active career, released a moving statement on X, saying: ‘It is with deepest sadness that we have learned tonight of the passing of club legend Sol Bamba.

‘As a player and coach, Sol’s impact on our football club was immeasurable. He was a hero to us all, a leader in every dressing room and a true gentleman.

“Our thoughts are with his friends, family and everyone who was lucky enough to know and love Sol.”

Cardiff City released a tribute saying: ‘As a player and coach, Sol’s impact on our football club was immeasurable’

Leeds wrote on X: ‘Everyone at #LUFC is shocked to hear of the passing of former #LUFC captain Sol Bamba.

“Our thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends at this tragic time. Rest in peace Sol, you will be in our hearts forever.

Bamba was captain of Leeds United during his time at the club in 2016

Middlesbrough also paid tribute to their former player on X: ‘We are shocked to hear that Sol Bamba has passed away at the age of 39.

‘Our thoughts are with Sol’s family and friends at this time. RIP Sol’

Turkish team Galatasaray paid their respects by posting a tribute that read:

‘We have learned with sadness that Sol Bamba, technical director of Adanaspor, has passed away.

“We express our condolences to the family, loved ones and community of Adanaspor.”

Many of Bamba’s former clubs have paid tribute to the 39-year-old, including Leeds, where he captained the team

Bamba grew up in Paris and that is where his love for the game began. He started his career in the youth academy of Paris Saint-Germain, but then decided to move to Scotland. There he played for Dunfermline and later Hibernian.

His affair with English football began in 2011 when he joined Leicester City, where he played under Sven-Goran Eriksson.

The two had a good relationship, having previously worked together at the Ivory Coast national team, where the Swedish manager also trained Bamba.

He then left England and played for Trabzonspor and Palermo, before returning in 2015 to play for Leeds.

His captaincy at Leeds came to an abrupt end in 2016 when he moved to Cardiff City, where he made 118 appearances for the club.

Bamba moved to Cardiff City from Leeds in 2016, where he made 118 appearances for the club.

Since retiring in 2022, Bamba has returned to Cardiff and taken up a role as assistant manager for his former club

During his time in Wales, Bamba was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and underwent four months of chemotherapy before making a triumphant return in the final game of the 2020/21 season.

“After the first chemo I was out for four days,” he told Sportsmail in 2022.

“I couldn’t get out of bed. I lost weight. Then I said to my wife, ‘I’m not going for round two.’ The way I was, at that moment, it was horrible.

‘When I was having chemo, I never thought for a moment that I would come back and play. And I never thought about scoring penalties at Old Trafford – nights like this seemed a million miles away.’

More to come