British - Montenegrin Goalkeeper "Matija Sarkic" Dies aged 26

metalmachine · Jun 15, 2024

The Millwall and Montenegro goalkeeper Matija Sarkic has died at the age of 26, the club have announced. It has been reported that Sarkic fell ill at an apartment in the town of Budva in Montenegro on Saturday morning.

The Grimsby-born Sarkic began his career in Anderlecht’s academy before joining Aston Villa in 2015. He had loan spells at Wigan, Stratford, Havant & Waterlooville and Livingston and moved to Wolves in 2020. He played 60 games during loan spells at Shrewsbury, Birmingham and Stoke before joining Millwall last August, where he made 33 appearances, going on to establish himself as the Championship club’s number one.

Sarkic made his Montenegro debut against Belarus in 2019 and was on international duty last week for a friendly against Belgium.

Sarkic kept 12 clean sheets in 33 games in 2023-24, helping his side finish 13th in the Championship.

The Montenegro international last played on June 5, in a friendly against Belgium where he impressed in a 2-0 defeat.

He won nine caps for his country after making his debut in November 2019.