Former Rangers player Fernando Ricksen has passed away at the age of 43 following a battle with motor neurone disease.
Ricksen, who won 12 caps for the Dutch national team, had been battling the disease for six years after being diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in October 2013.
The former defender spent six years at the Glasgow club, where he won the domestic cup double in 2002 and the treble in 2003.
Following his diagnosis in 2013, Ricksen raised money to find a cure for the disease, and a benefit match was held in January 2015, and attracted over 41,000 fans to Ibrox, raising £320,000 ($399,000) with the proceeds split between Fernando, his daughter Isabella, MND Scotland and the Rangers Charity Foundation.
“It’s very sad news for everyone connected with Rangers and, more importantly, his young family,” Rangers coach Steven Gerrard told a news conference on Wednesday.
“So on behalf of the club I would like to pay tribute. He was fantastic player and he had a decorated career.
“He played with his heart on his sleeve, he was that type, and that was epitomized when he was taken ill in 2013. I think he was given 18 months to live at the time and he has fought ever so hard up to this point.
“That sums up the character, the warrior type on the pitch and off the pitch. But we certainly send our condolences to his young family.”
