TRAGIC Fernando Ricksen died just a day before his wife was expected back at his bedside, pals have revealed.
Veronika, 33, was due to jet in from the family’s Spanish home tonight and resume her heartbreaking hospice vigil with the Rangers legend.
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But the mum of one – who previously told The Scottish Sun she feared missing her hubby’s final days due to cash woes – broke down in tears after a phone call revealed Fernando passed away at around 10. 30 am.
The ex-Ibrox captain’s biographer and close pal Vincent de Vries said: “Veronika called me this morning after hearing the news.
“She was flying in tomorrow. She was one day too late.
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“She just said ‘one day too late , one day too late ‘when I spoke to her on the phone.
“She was crying because she lost her husband and the dad of her daughter. It’s very painful for her.
“I lost a close friend but for Veronika it was so much more.”
Brave Fernandodied aged just 43following a six-year battle with motor neurone disease.
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The Holland international revealed he had been diagnosed with the incurable muscle-wasting condition during a bombshell Dutch telly interview in 2013.
He sobbed as he told how docs had given him just months to live, adding: “I am fighting for my life.”
But the inspirational star defied medics as his ravaged body began to fail – and told how he dreamed of being MND’s first survivor.
Vincent said his pal would be thankful that he didn’t have to suffer any more.
He said: “We knew this day would come but it’s really shocking to get the call.
“I think it’s a relief for Fernando that it’s finally over – despite wanting to be the first to beat that disease. It became tougher and tougher for him. The last two weeks have been terrible for him. He couldn’t communicate anymore and that was the last thing he had.
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“He was ready for it I think. It’s very cruel to be like that in a bed. Now he can rest. ”
Fernando, who united footie fans across Scotland and the world with his bravery, eventually lost the power to perform basic tasks like tying his shoelaces.
He was also forced to use a Stephen Hawking-style computer to speak to his family after the disease wrecked his voice.
He was moved to St Andrew’s Hospice in Airdrie late last year after taking unwell at an Ibrox charity bash.
Docs decided it wasn’t safe for him to fly back to his home in Valencia, Spain.
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He made his last public appearance in June as he shunned the limelight to focus on his life battle.
Devoted missus Veronika and daughter Isabella, seven, continued to visit every few weeks.
But his Russian wife told The Scottish Sun she feared missing his final days because they were skint.
Vincent, who last visited Fernando in the hospice two weeks ago, said: “I think mentally it was very tough because there was no event on the horizon after his last charity night.
“When you’ve nothing to plan and you’re always in the same room, that’s really difficult.
“I think he was waiting to die at the end. Veronika and Isabella was all that was keeping him going. ”
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He added : “The last time I saw him I could only stay a couple of minutes because he was so tired.
“He was so tired that he couldn’t use his eyes to communicate properly, which made it very tough.
“He could only spell one letter at a time. After ten seconds his eyes would close because he was so tired and his head would drop.
“But he spelled out‘ tired ’after about two minutes.
“When he spelt tired, I knew it would be very difficult for him to defeat this disease. It’s very hard for me to see him like that.
“I thought it was better to leave at that moment.
“When I left the building, I knew it would be the last I saw him.”
Vincent met Fernando in 2000 – the same year countryman Dick Advocaat brought the full back turned midfielder to Ibrox in a £ 3. (million deal from Dutch cracks AZ Alkmaar.)
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Rangers fans leave tributes to FernandoCredit: Getty Images – Getty
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The journalist later serialized Fernando’s autobiography Fighting Spirit in 2014.
The pair grew very close, with Vincent regularly flying over from Holland to visit him.
Now Vincent – who tweeted “The fight is over. RIP Fernando ”following the tragedy – hopes his pal is remembered as a great footballer and a fearless battler.
He said: “I obviously cried when I heard the news. I’ll miss him. ***
“We became really good friends. We ended up speaking every day about everything. I want to remember him a player as much as a fighter but he made such an impact with his MND battle.
“Everyone knows what MND is now because of him.
“His doctors were even surprised. He just had such a fighting spirit.
“The fighting took up so much of his energy in the end, but he’s just been so brave.”
Rangers announced the news on their official website yesterday.
The Light Blues said they were “deeply saddened” as they paid tribute to their former skipper, who lifted the SPL title and League Cup double in 2005.
He was also inducted into Gers ’Hall of Fame following his six-year, trophy-laden stint in Govan.
Fernando Ricksen – 1976 – 2019
A club statement said: “The thoughts of everyone at Rangers are with Fernando’s wife Veronika, his daughter Isabella and all his family and friends.”
Managing director Stewart Robertson added: “Everyone connected with Rangers will be distressed by Fernando’s passing. He fought so bravely against a terrible illness.
“Fernando will never be forgotten by his teammates or Rangers fans. His place in our history is secured. ”
Hundreds of Rangers fans gather to light candle tribute to Fernando Ricksen outside Ibrox
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