Spanish football coach Francisco Garcia dies from coronavirus

Francisco Garcia

Spanish football coach Francisco Garcia has died after contracting coronavirus.

The 21-year-old was diagnosed with COVID-19 but was also told he had leukemia last Friday.

According to reports, Garcia, who was also coaching young kids in the team’s academies, had no idea he had cancer when he went to a hospital with breathing problems.

It's believed his pre-existing health condition affected his ability to fight off the virus, making him one of the youngest victims in the world.

The president of his club Atletico Portada Alta, Malaga, Spain, released an emotional statement on social media confirming his death.

"Francisco was a great guy and a very talented coach. We are all still shocked. The hospital rang me at 7pm on Sunday to say his condition had stabilised, but then an hour later,” Portada Alta Club President Pepe Bueno said.

"The coronavirus came together with a bad illness he had. I can't believe it has happened."

Spain has the fourth-highest number of coronavirus cases in the world behind China, Italy, and Iran. 

Spain's recorded cases of the virus surged by 1,400 overnight, to a total of 9,190, with 309 deaths.

Spain's 47 million people have been under partial lockdown since Saturday night, allowed to leave their homes only to go to work, buy food or visit a pharmacy or hospital.

More than 1,000 troops have been deployed across the country to police the lockdown, telling people to go home unless they have a good reason to be outside.