Mali star Salif Keita dies, aged 76

Minister Abdoul Kassim Ibrahim Fomba said Keita passed away in the captial city Bamako, where he was also born. Keita retired in 1980 after a succesful club career in France.

Keita won the French league title three times with Saint-Etienne and French Cup on two occasions. "The Black Panther has left us, taking a part of our club with him," Saint-Etienne said in a statement on social media.

After leaving Saint-Etienne, Keita joined Marseille and then moved to Valencia in Spain, Sporting Lisbon in Portugal before ending his club career in the United States.

For his country, he made his debut as a 16-year-old and was part of the squad which finished second in the 1972 African Cup of Nations.

In 1970 he won the first African Ballon D'Or and even acted in a film with the same name, loosely inspired by his story, which came out in 1994.