Legendary Scottish footballer and two-time European Cup winner with Nottingham Forest John Robertson has died at the age of 72 after a long illness, Oleksandr Zinchenko's current club announced on social media. Legendary footballer and coach Volodymyr Muntyan passed away earlier.
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The son of a miner and a biscuit factory worker, whom legendary manager Brian Clough called “the Picasso of our football”, became an icon for Nottingham Forest (over 500 appearances, 95 goals), winning the English championship, two European Cups and two League Cups with the team. At the same time, in the 1979 European Cup final against Malmo, he provided an assist for Trevor Francis, and a year later scored the winning goal as Forest retained the trophy, defeating Hamburg 1-0.
Reposting this.
#RIP #johnrobertson #NFFC https://t.co/Ir6fjcwhhe
ADVERTISING — Michael Dugher (@MichaelDugher) December 25, 2025
Robertson played 28 matches and scored 8 goals for Scotland, taking part in the 1978 and 1982 World Cups.
After finishing his playing career, John Robertson took up coaching, working for many years in Martin O'Neill's staff at Leicester, Celtic, Aston Villa, Norwich City and Wycombe Wanderers.
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In August 2013, the Scot was rushed to hospital with a suspected heart attack while playing tennis with former Nottingham Forest teammate Liam O'Kane. He then had a stent inserted.
John Robertson, who was estimated to be worth around £2m, is survived by his wife Sharyl, daughter Liz and sons Andrew and Mark, as well as grandchildren Jess and Phoebe. His eldest daughter Jessica, who was born in 1983 with cerebral palsy, died in infancy.
Previously, “FACTS” reported that the Champions League winner and Euro 2000 medalist died of sudden cardiac arrest at the age of 53.
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Photos from social networks