Chelsea legend Peter Bonetti passes away at the age of 78

Chelsea FC
Posted by

Chelsea legend Peter Bonetti has passed away at the age of 78 after a long battle with illness.

The legendary goalkeeper who was affectionately nicknamed ‘The Cat’, played for Chelsea for nearly two decades and also racked up seven appearances for the England national team during that time.

Bonetti won the 1970 FA Cup with Chelsea during his time at the club and made 729 appearances for the Blues from 1959 to 1979 becoming the second-highest all-time appearance maker for the club.

As seen in the tweet below, Chelsea’s statement on Bonetti’s demise read:

“Chelsea Football Club is hugely saddened to announce the passing today of one of our indisputably all-time great players, Peter Bonetti.

“Our former goalkeeper had been suffering from long-term illness. All at Chelsea wish to send our heartfelt and deepest condolences to Peter’s family and friends.”

The legendary goalkeeper then began coaching after his illustrious career as a player and was part of the England U21s set up in the ’90s.

Chelsea also released a short video on Bonetti following his demise.

According to Brazilian legend Pele, Bonetti was among the top three goalkeepers of all time along with Gordan Banks and Lev Yashin.

While Bonetti’s record of 208 clean sheets for Chelsea held good for more than four decades and was eventually broken by Petr Cech only in 2014.

More Stories Peter Bonetti