George Baldock’s fiancé and family issue an emotional statement as Greek police give an update on the circumstances of his death.
The 31 year old drowned while swimming in the pool at his apartment, with police confirming there was no evidence that criminal activity caused the death of the Greece international, who signed for Panathinaikos in the summer and made his last appearance for them three days before his death.
As per Daily Mail, Baldock conducted his regular training session on the day he drowned in his swimming pool, with teammates expressing their shock outside his villa following his death, which occurred less than 12 hours after they last saw him.
It’s believed that he had been deceased for approximately five hours before being found at 10:30pm.
He played in Panathinaikos’ 0-0 draw with Olympiacos on Sunday, trained with his teammates on the morning of his death, and following the training session, he travelled 13 miles from the training facility near Athens’ international airport to his rented villa by the beach in Glyfada.
His partner, back home in the UK, tried speaking to him on the phone, but he was not answering. After becoming worried, she contacted the owner of the five-storey property, who found George unresponsive in the swimming pool.
At 10.29pm, the owner called the emergency services, who arrived at the scene nine minutes later, with paramedics trying to resuscitate the footballer, who was declared dead shortly afterwards. Police believe he may have been dead for up to five hours before he was found.
A medical examiner was also called to the scene, finding no bruises or injuries on his body but was showing signs of having drowned.
Panathinaikos was immediately informed that one of their players had died with manager Diego Alonso told by phone by a friend with the news.
The team’s technical director Yiannis Papadimitriou, director of football Giorgos Tzavellas, club doctor Panagiotis Alexandropoulos all went to the property, soon after, players went to pay their respects, gathering together in a group outside the property while police continued their search inside.
Club legend Zeca, captain Bart Schenkeveld, defender Hörður Björgvin Magnússon, midfielder Tonny Vilhena and Rubén Pérez also went to the vigil.
Toxicology tests have been taken during the autopsy, it will take several days to find out the outcome and if alcohol was present in his system when he died.
Annabel Dignam, his partner and mother to their year old son Brody, posted via Instagram with a picture of them.
In it, she also revealed the George had been due to fly back to Britain on Thursday to celebrate his birthday with the family at their home in Sheffield.
She said: ‘George, the love of my life, my soulmate.
‘The perfect Dad to our beautiful boy.
‘You completed me. You were my world and I know we were yours.
‘You are here with me in Brody’s smile, giggle and infectious personality.
‘My world will never be the same but I will find a way for Brody. I promise.
‘I love you forever and always G. Your Neen. X’
Statement from the family of George Baldock…
“We are heartbroken with the sudden passing of our beloved George. We can confirm that a post-mortem examination has found that George tragically drowned whilst swimming in the pool at his home in Glyfada, Athens.
“George, you were the most special father, fiancé, son, brother, uncle, friend, teammate and person. Your enthusiasm and infectious personality brought so much love to those that were fortunate enough to know you and those that adored you from the stands. We will forever cherish the special memories we have of you and you will continue to live on in your beautiful son. You were due to fly home today for us to celebrate his first birthday together, but instead we mourn your loss.
“As a family it has been incredibly touching, but equally so very difficult to read the huge number of tributes written by those that knew George and from those whose life he touched. It was impossible not to love him. We ask that you please continue to respect our privacy at this devastating time as we begin to process our grief.”
Police say that his partner had contacted the property manager – identified as Andreas Vlachopoulos – who went to the property and found Baldock lifeless in the swimming pool with the owners.
On his Instagram Mr Vlachopoulos wrote: ‘To be called to the office at 22.00 in the evening by the owner of a property you have rented and to be the first to announce that your client was found dead in the swimming pool of his home.
‘There are no words for what I feel. I wish strength to his family,’ before adding a picture of Baldock.
Police continue with their investigation as to whether a second person was present when Baldock passed away. A spokesman for Greece’s Hellenic Police added: “A forensic pathologist was called to the scene and examined the body with no evidence of criminal activity.
The house was searched to work out if there were any signs of a burglary with a negative result. In addition, a specialised team of the Criminal Investigation Directorate of the Police checked on the house in order to rule out the possibility of criminal activity”.
“The whole team and everyone has gone through a very difficult 24 hours,” he said. “He was with us in the dressing room, it is something that shouldn’t happen. In such moments football isn’t important. He left his mark with us with the way the players played with him on the pitch today.”
There was a moment of silence for Thursday night’s Nations League match between England and Greece at Wembley, with Baldock’s picture shown on the big screens, players for both sides wore black armbands and the Greece team held up his shirt before kick-off.
Rest in peace, George Baldock. pic.twitter.com/lb7shAcZSo
— England (@England) October 10, 2024
For George Baldock 🕊️
Greece beat England for the first time ever, only a day after the death of their teammate.
At full-time, they celebrated together with his shirt 💙 pic.twitter.com/VFjmeyudFS
— Optus Sport (@OptusSport) October 10, 2024
“This day was very hard for us.”
Dimitrios Pelkas pays his respects to George Baldock following Greece’s victory over England ❤️#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/pvTaYZQzg7
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) October 11, 2024
Vangelis Pavlidis, who scored twice in Greece’s 2-1 Nations League win, told ITV: “It was a really special game for us because of George, and of course we gave everything for him and for his family.
“It’s a great win but more important is the emotions and that we are people and it’s a special night because of him first of all.
“It was a really difficult moment for us because George was part of the team. He was a special guy. We had a lot of time together.
“We just said that we have to play for him. It doesn’t matter the score today, we want to play for him and we give everything for him.”
Greece manager Ivan Jovanovic said: “The whole team and everyone has gone through a very difficult 24 hours. He was with us in the dressing room, it is something that shouldn’t happen. In such moments football isn’t important. He left his mark with us with the way the players played with him on the pitch today.”
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