Gianluigi Buffon leads glowing tributes to Fiorentina captain Davide Astori, who has died suddenly at the age of 31

“Your little girl deserves to know that her father was in all respects a perfect person.”

Gianluigi Buffon has led the way for glowing tributes to Fiorentina captain and Italy international Davide Astori, who passed away suddenly in his sleep at the age of 31.

Well-regarded as one of the more eloquent voices in football, the Juventus goalkeeper penned a heartbreaking tribute to the young footballer:

“Hello dear Asto, I hardly publicly expressed a thought about a person, because I have always thought that the beauty and the uniqueness of relationships, mutual respect and affection, were not exploited or thrown into the meal to those who do not have the delicacy to respect certain ties.

“In your case, I feel I am making an exception to my rule, because you have a young wife and family members who are suffering, but especially your little girl, deserves to know that her father was in all respects a perfect person, a great perfect person.

“You were the best expression of an ancient, surpassed world, in which values such as altruism, elegance, education and respect for others, were masters. Congratulations indeed, you were one of the best sports figures in which I came across. RIP.”

Buffon shared his words along with a photograph of the two together on his Instagram:

Ciao caro Asto, difficilmente ho espresso pubblicamente un pensiero riguardo una persona, perché ho sempre lasciato che la bellezza e l’unicità di rapporti, di reciproca stima e affetto, non venissero strumentalizzati o gettati in pasto a chi non ha la delicatezza per rispettare certi legami. Nel tuo caso, sento di fare un’eccezione alla mia regola, perché hai una moglie giovane e dei familiari che staranno soffrendo,ma soprattutto la tua piccola bimba, merita di sapere che il suo papà era a tutti gli effetti una PERSONA PERBENE…..una GRANDE PERSONA PERBENE….eri l’espressione migliore di un mondo antico, superato, nel quale valori come l’altruismo, l’eleganza, l’educazione e il rispetto verso il prossimo, la facevano da padroni. Complimenti davvero, sei stata una delle migliori figure sportive nella quale mi sono imbattuto. R.I.P. Il tuo folle Gigi.

A post shared by Gianluigi Buffon (@gianluigibuffon) on Mar 4, 2018 at 4:41am PST

Further tributes came from AS Roma, for whom Astori played on a season-long loan deal from Cagliari across 2014 and 2015, and from former Fiorentina, Inter Milan and Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini, who said, “I learned with great pain what happened to Davide Astori. My condolences to the family.”

L’#ASRoma si unisce al dolore del mondo del calcio per la scomparsa di Davide Astori. Sconvolti dalla tragica notizia, dirigenti, calciatori e tutti i dipendenti della società si stringono attorno al dolore della sua famiglia. pic.twitter.com/62gcg7es3o

— AS Roma (@OfficialASRoma) March 4, 2018

Andrea Pirlo, one of the beautiful game’s true greats, offered his condolences via Twitter.

Senza parole.. alla fine se ne vanno sempre i migliori… buon viaggio amico mio. RIP ❤️ pic.twitter.com/BHwH5abZZ6

— Andrea Pirlo (@Pirlo_official) March 4, 2018

“Life is precious and we need to enjoy every day of it,” said former AC Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf.

“I send my most sincere condolences to Davide’s family and I thank you Davide for having been a great opponent on the pitch and for all you have done for football. Rest In Peace.”

AC Milan, meanwhile, released a statement of their own.

“A man who loved football and who grew up as footballer with us,” it began. “AC Milan are shocked by the passing of Davide Astori. It is with great sadness that we offer our deepest condolences to his family and closed ones and to Fiorentina.”