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Football

06th Sep 2021

Former France defender Jean-Pierre Adams dies after spending 39 years in a coma

Danny Jones

Jean-Pierre Adams

Jean-Pierre Adams died aged 73, having spent more than half of his life in a coma

The former French footballer, Jean-Pierre Adams, has died aged 73 after having been in a coma for 39 years. The France international fell into a coma after an ‘anaesthesia error’ before knee surgery.

He was quoted as saying he was in “great shape” ahead of the surgery, aged 34 at the time, but sadly he never came back around. He was confirmed to have died on Monday morning at Nimes University Hospital.

Adams played a centre-back for his Les Bleus as well as Nîmes, OGC Nice and PSG, just to name a few.

The Senegal-born defender went on to earn 22 caps for France and was undertaking his coaching badges when he was forced to get the important surgery.

He leaves behind his wife, Bernadette, and two sons, Laurent and Frédéric. As covered in a piece by The Guardian, Bernadette had a house custom-built, which she named Mas du bel athléte dormant — the ‘House of the Beautiful Sleeping Athlete’.

Rest in peace.

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