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‘Why now?’ Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia leads tributes for heart attack victim Christian Benitez

By Marios Papaloizou

The shocking death of 27-year-old Ecuadorian striker Christian Benitez after a heart attack yesterday has prompted tributes from devastated Manchester United Stars.

Having played 30 times for Birmingham City and 58 times for his country, Benitez was a seasoned striker and a mainstay in the Ecuadorian national team.

Tributes have been flooding in from around the footballing world including tweets from Benitez’s Ecuadorian team-mate Antonio Valencia.

The Manchester United winger tweeted a series of emotional messages including: ‘why now brother?’ and ‘God is with your family brother, we love you’.

A statement from the Ecuador Football Federation read: “The FEF regrets to inform you of the death of Christian Benitez, the striker of Qatar club Al Jaish and the Ecuadorian national team.

Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez also added to the tributes by tweeting: “Extremely sad and shocked by the death of Chucho Benitez, my thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.”

Image courtesy of CadenaTres Deportes via Youtube, with thanks.

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