Former Uruguay worldwide midfielder Fabian O’Neill, as soon as hailed by Zinedine Zidane as “the most talented player” he’d ever seen, died Sunday after an extended battle with alcoholism. He was 49. “Goodbye Wizard,” tweeted O’Neill’s formative membership Nacional after he handed away on account of power cirrhosis in a Montevideo hospital the place he had been rushed on Saturday affected by a hemorrhage. “The most talented player I’ve ever seen,” was how French World Cup winner Zidane, a teammate at Juventus, described O’Neill.

After making his debut for Nacional on the age of 18 in 1992, O’Neill was transferred to Cagliari in Italy three years later.

In 2000, he moved to Juventus however after taking part in for the Turin giants for only one season, he was farmed out to Perugia.

He then returned to Nacional earlier than quitting in 2003.

O’Neill earned 19 caps for Uruguay and scored two objectives.

He was a part of the squad that was eradicated within the first spherical of the World Cup in South Korea and Japan in 2002 though he didn’t function in any of the group video games on account of damage.

“Uruguayan football is in mourning. One of the best players to emerge in recent decades and who knew how to shine on the field with his talent and magic has left us,” wrote the El Pais newspaper.

El Observador mentioned that “Fabian O’Neill was one of those great talents wasted…. his career was marked by alcohol and excesses.”

(This story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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