Belgian footballer Miguel van Damme has died aged 28 after suffering from leukaemia.
The goalkeeper was first diagnosed with the disease, which is a cancer of the blood cells, in 2016 and made a recovery before suffering a relapse in 2019. In 2020 he announced in public that treatment was no longer effective and the condition had become terminal.
Van Damme signed for Cercle Brugge in 2013 and made 40 Belgian Pro League appearances for the club, in a career which was disrupted by the illness and various rounds of treatment. On Tuesday his club published a tribute.
‘It is with great sadness we report that our friend and team-mate Van Damme has fought his long and uneven battle against leukaemia,’ Cercle Brugge said. ‘Words are not enough to describe what we feel, even though we knew that things had not gone well for a while.
‘Miguel, your perseverance and strength to go for it [again] over and over, setback after setback, was admirable. You are an example of positivism, persistence and fighting spirit. A source of inspiration for everyone who fights. Forever in our green-black heart, #16.”
Van Damme and his wife Kyana Dobbelaere became parents for the first last year with the birth of daughter Camille. Dobbelaere posted an emotional tribute of her own on Instagram.
‘Our dearest darling, daddy left for his last match last night, a match that can no longer be won,’ she wrote. ‘You left us very slowly, yet you did it again in your own way… very strong.
‘You fought like a lion. We are so thankful for who you were. An example for many. You have made me realise that there is no such thing as giving up, even if there was only that one small glimmer of success, time and again you got over it. Rest now darling you have more than earned it, you are now freed from all pain.’
The Belgian Pro League wrote on twitter: ‘Our thoughts are with his family, friends and everyone at Cercle Brugge. Your fighting spirit has been inspiring. Rest in peace.’
The Royal Belgian Football Association, meanwhile, wrote: ‘Rest in peace, Miguel. 1993-2022. A dark day for Belgian football’
A tribute is set to be paid to Van Damme before tonight’s friendly between the Belgian national team and Burkina Faso at Anderlecht’s Lotto Park stadium.
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