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11th Apr 2016

John Terry offers to pay for funeral of eight-year old Chelsea fan who died of leukaemia

Conor Heneghan

Credit to Terry, it’s a pretty admirable gesture.

Chelsea captain John Terry has offered to pay the full funeral costs for an eight-year old Chelsea fan who recently died after a battle with leukaemia.

Tommi Miller passed away on March 31 after a long battle with leukaemia after a recent attempt to carry out a bone marrow transplant proved unsuccessful.

According to Cambridge News, Terry has offered to pay the costs of the funeral (approximately £1,600) after being contacted by friends of the family on social media.

Terry met Tommi Miller during a visit to Chelsea last June; the captain was one of his favourite players and Terry wrote a personal letter to Tommi when he learned that he had fallen seriously ill.

xxxx during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on March 19, 2016 in London, United Kingdom.

Commenting on Terry’s offer to pay for the costs of the funeral, Tommi’s mum Ruth told the Cambridge News: “I’m overwhelmed really, because Tommi was such a great fan of John Terry in particular. He was one of his favourite players.

“We don’t want a traditional sort of funeral. It’s for a child, so we thought we would have it as bright and cheerful as he would want it.”

“Just before Tommi was put on life support we received a personal letter from John Terry and it was read out to him,” she added.

“He was heavily sedated so we only hope he could hear us.”

A service for Tommi will take place this Thursday, with those in attendance asked to wear Chelsea or Cambridge United football shirts as an illustration of Tommi’s passion for both clubs.

“Having had the pleasure of meeting Tommi at a Chelsea game I was totally devastated to hear of him passing away,” Terry told Cambridge News.

“I’m sure his family and friends will give him the send-off he deserves.”