Montpellier president, Louis Nicollin, has died at the age of 74.
The club confirmed the sad news on Thursday.
Nicollin has been president of the French club since 1974.
He is widely reported to have suffered a heart attack while celebrating his birthday at a restaurant.
“It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of our President Louis Nicollin on Thursday 29 June,” Montpellier posted on Twitter.
French footballers including Andre-Pierre Gignac and Anthony Knockaert, have already paid tribute to him.
“My favourite president, how sad, my thoughts are with Laurent Nicollin and his family,” Gignac tweeted.
Knockaert wrote: “How sad to learn of the death of a man like Loulou Nicollin … Life is cruel #RIP #LEGEND.”