Emotional moment Millwall manager Neil Harris chokes back tears as he reveals heartbreak over death of Matija Sarkic

MILLWALL boss Neil Harris has paid an emotional tribute to keeper Matija Sarkic following his tragic death.

Sarkic passed away at the age of 26 on Saturday after reportedly falling ill while on international duty.

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Now Millwall manager Harris, 46, has opened up about how he found out the devastating news, while he also spoke glowingly about the brilliant young shot-stopper.

In an interview with the club, he said: “First thoughts have to go with Matija’s parents and his brothers.

“He was a wonderful son and a wonderful brother who was a very caring, good man.

“Getting the call at 7am first thing on the weekend, you know it’s not going to be positive news.

“But you could never imagine the devastation in the moment that you find out that such a good man at such a tender age has lost his life.

“Words find it hard to explain how you feel. It makes it very emotional for me because I have a 22-year-old son myself. Matija is only a few years older, so anybody in life can relate to something like that.

“Devastating news for the family and our football club.”

Clearly choked up while talking about the loss, Harris continued: “There is no surprise that when you read obituaries on social media and that people so close to him talk so fondly of him, they talk about his radiant smile, human nature and goodwill.

“I only worked with Matija for a three-month period. I was with him last Thursday at the training ground and he had a huge smile on his face about going to see the family in Montenegro that evening.

“He had a great summer. He performed so well for his nation against Belgium and had been to his brother’s wedding.

“As a character in the training ground, every day, win, lose or draw, he came in with a smile on his face.

“He wanted to be better. That was his thought process. People shouldn’t think of him as a laidback goalkeeper who was quite calm on the football pitch, he was very driven.

“He had high aspirations for himself to keep moving forward. He wanted to build his caps up for his country but also drag us forward. 

“I can’t praise him highly enough as a human being in the time I knew him, but also as a professional as well.

“It doesn’t always feel right to talk work in moments like this, but in Matija’s case, it does. He loved the game and loved his job.”

Sarkic began his career in Anderlecht‘s academy before being snapped up by Aston Villa in 2015.

The Grimsby-born stopper joined Wolves in 2020 and found form in loan spells with Shrewsbury, Birmingham – where he was named Player of the Season in 2022 – and Stoke.

That convinced Millwall to make a permanent move last summer and Sarkic made 33 appearances for the Lions, who won five games in a row to end the season 13th in the Championship.

He was named player of the match in his last outing for Montenegro as he made nine saves in a 2-0 defeat to Euro 2024 hopefuls Belgium – his ninth international cap.

The talented No1 also received the player of the match award in Millwall’s final game of the season – a 1-0 win over Swansea.