First choice Millwall’s championship goalkeeper Matija Sarkic died suddenly at the age of 26.
Millwall, Derby County’s Championship rivals, are now grieving the ‘devastating’ death of goalkeeper Matija Sarkic, who was only 26.
The Montenegro international, who rose through the ranks at Aston Villa and Wolves and played on loan for Birmingham and Stoke, had only received praise for his performance in an international encounter against Belgium on June 5.
According to Montenegrin reports, he was in an apartment in Budva when he fell ill unexpectedly. Millwall Football Club issued the following statement: “Millwall Football Club is completely devastated to announce that Matija Sarkic has died at the age of 26.
“Sarkic, the Lions’ number one goalkeeper, has made 33 appearances for the club since arriving from Wolverhampton Wanderers in August 2023. Matija, a Montenegrin international, has proudly represented his country on several times.
“Everyone at the club expresses their love and sympathies to Matija’s family and friends during this extremely sad moment. The club will not make any additional comments at this time and requests that Matija’s family’s privacy be respected.
Sarkic joined Villa’s academy from Anderlecht as a teenager, and his development included loan spells at Wigan and Livingston. He was offered a new contract in 2020, but opted to join Wolves, where he saw a brighter path to the first team.
Despite his injuries, he excelled on loan at Shrewsbury, Birmingham, and Stoke City. Despite dislocating his shoulder in January, he was chosen Birmingham’s player of the year for 2022.
A permanent deal to Stoke fell through in the summer of 2023, so he moved to Millwall, where he played an important role in their fight for Championship survival.