Harry Kane has paid tribute to Gian Piero Ventrone after the Tottenham fitness coach died from fulminant leukaemia at the age of 61 overnight.
The popular Italian joined the club following Antonio Conte's appointment back in November 2021 after previously working with the former Chelsea chief at Juventus.
Tottenham confirmed Ventrone's death in a statement released on Thursday morning. Italian publication La Republicca reported that Ventrone had passed away overnight after being diagnosed with leukaemia just days ago in Naples.
And Kane was one of the first Tottenham players to pay tribute to Ventrone in the wake of his sad passing. The Spurs striker tweeted: "A truly remarkable man. I’m devastated by the passing of our coach Gian Piero. My love and strength is with his family at this time. His words and wisdom will live on with me for the rest of my life and I’m just grateful I had the opportunity to spend time with him. RIP Prof."
Other players soon joined Kane in paying tribute to Ventrone, with Richarlison also sharing a social media post. The Brazilian striker tweeted: "Since I arrived at Tottenham, Gian has been a huge inspiration to me. He always said that I would help him a lot during the season, but who helped me was him... much more than he can imagine. Today we woke up to the terrible news of his passing and we are all devastated."
Matt Doherty was another who reacted to the devastating news, with the full-back tweeting: "Amazing Man" along with a tearful emoji.
Ryan Sessegnon also paid tribute, tweeting: "Was such an amazing person. Devastated by the news. Was always positive and always pushing us to our limits to become better. My love and strength goes out to his family and everyone connected to Gian piero at this difficult time. RIP Prof."
A statement released by the club announcing Ventrone's death read: “We are devastated to announce that fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone has passed away.
“The 61-year-old joined the club in November 2021 as part of Antonio Conte’s backroom staff, having previously held roles at Juventus, Catania, JS Suning, GZ Evergrande and AC Ajaccio.
“As loveable off the pitch as he was demanding on it, Gian Piero quickly became a hugely popular figure with players and staff.
“He will be greatly missed by everyone at the club and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this impossibly sad time.”
Despite his gruelling fitness sessions, Ventrone remained hugely popular with the club's players and he was even singled out by Son Heung-Min following the forward's recent hat-trick against Leicester.
“I have a really, really good relationship with Gian Piero," Son said last month. “Obviously his English is not perfect, sometimes he is coming with his phone and translating into English from Italian. It means a lot.
“Not just football wise, I think life-wise he gives me so much advice. I am really grateful. He has been so helpful, giving me always a big hug in tough times and even great times he has always been next to me and every staff.
“Even before we left the training ground (to play Leicester), we had a couple of minutes of having a nice conversation which made me really comfortable and really grateful.”
