Ghanaian players mourn passing of Portugal legend Eusebio

Ghana trio Andre Ayew, Michael Essien and Jonathan Mensah took to twitter to mourn the death of Portugal legend Eusebio.

R.I.P EUSEBIO...:. true legend,” Andre Ayew, posted on his official twitter account.

“Here today gone tomorrow, the world has lost another legend. R.I.P EUSEBIO,” Michael Essien tweeted while Jonathan Mensah also posted, “RIP Eusebio.”

The Portugal star, nicknamed ‘The Black Panther’, was widely acknowledged as one of the game’s greatest ever players.

His brilliance transformed Benfica into a powerhouse of European football in the 1960s, with the striker helping the Lisbon side to win the European Cup in 1961 and ’62.

He also earned runner-up medals in the same competition in 1963, ’65 and ’68.

Eusebio’s exploits with his club, whom he scored a jaw-dropping 473 goals in 440 matches for over the course of 15 years, also saw him named European footballer of the year in 1965.

The Mozambique-born player, whose full name was Eusebio da Silva Ferreira, won 61 caps for Portugal, netting 41 times. At the 1966 World Cup, he was one of the stars of the tournament, finishing as top scorer with nine goals as his country finished third.