Former Southampton and England youth player Ben Cull has tragically lost his life after a long and brave battle with cancer.
Cull, who began his football career in Southampton’s youth academy, faced Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare bone and soft-tissue disease, from the age of 17.
In recent months, Cull’s condition worsened, leading to a poignant moment when he proposed to his long-time girlfriend, Daisy Morrison, while in the hospital, as reported by The Sun.
Tragically, just weeks after this touching moment, he passed away.
His fiancee, Daisy Morrison, shared the heartbreaking news on her Instagram account, posting an emotional farewell message.
She wrote:
“The hardest goodbye.
“Yesterday I lost my whole life, my fiance, my soulmate, my person, my entire world. I always hoped and prayed this day would never, ever come.
“True heartbreak is real, my heart physically hurts and I’ve never felt pain like this.
“My mum and dad couldn’t of picked a better soulmate for me, they adored you, they think of you as a son and are hurting so bad right now.
“They say you go for someone like your father and god you were like dad, two peas in a pod, the best of friends, couldn’t of wished for a stronger bromance.
“You fought until the very end my darling, I know you did absolutely everything you could to stay and despite suffering so bad you kept going, that I will be forever grateful for, you never gave up, god just had his own plans.
“One thing I can say for sure is that we made the most of every single second.
“You and I both said we’d rather of met our soulmate and had less time, than lived a whole lifetime without each other.
“You were the reason I smiled every day, my reason to wake up, you were the first person I’d turn to with a problem.
“The person I felt safe next to every night, the person who made a whole room laugh, you were my reason for it all, you gave me a purpose.
“The only person I want to speak to right now is you and I can’t do that which breaks me.
“You’ve told me so many times to be brave for you and never give up and I promise I am going to try.
“I already miss you so much and will do every single second of every day my darling bow, the cuddles, the kisses, the laughs, messages and everything.
“My heart will never, ever heal from this hole you’ve left.
“To let you go will always be the toughest thing I’ll ever have to do.
“Good night baby, I will see you up there one day, we will be reunited again my darling and finish out story as it isn’t over yet.”
Cull’s football journey began in Southampton’s youth academy, where he became part of the Under-18s squad in 2015.
He even earned two caps for England’s Youth team. However, his promising career was cut short by his battle with cancer in 2018.