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Ecuador international, Christian Benitez, who also played for Birmingham City died on Monday, his club El Jaish have confirmed.
The 27 year-old-striker striker, nicknamed Chucho, had recently signed for Qatari side from Club America but he passed away before making his debut.
El Jaish on their official Twitter account confirmed: “The club sends its condolences to Ecuadorean Christian Benitez, a professional footballer who died this morning.”
Ecuadorian team-mate and Manchester United player Antonio Valencia expressed his condolences by posting on Twitter: “You’ll always be my brother. This pain is hard, my brother, but we love you.”
The former Birmingham City forward appeared 58 times for Ecuador during his career, scoring 24 goals in the process.
