Trending
MANCHESTER, England -- Joe Thompson, a former Manchester United academy player who made more than 200 appearances for local club Rochdale, has died. He was 36.
Fifth-tier English club Rochdale announced that Thompson, who had been fighting cancer for a third time, died Thursday at home with his family.
A midfielder, Thompson was first diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2013. The disease returned three years later.
Thompson announced he was cancer-free in 2017 and less than a year later entered himself "into Rochdale folklore," the club said, by coming off the bench in the final game of the 2017-18 season to score in a 1-0 win that kept the team in the third tier. He retired in 2019 and went on to become a motivational speaker and soccer pundit. He also held an ambassadorial role with United.
Last year, Thompson was diagnosed with cancer for a third time.