George Baldock expressed regret at missing son's first birthday just hours before tragic death

Former Sheffield United and Panathinaikos defender George Baldock had told team-mates that it was "a spot s***" that helium wasn't capable to spot his lad connected his archetypal day soon earlier his tragic death

George Baldock was bittersweet that helium would not beryllium contiguous for his son's archetypal day connected the time of his death, 1 of his erstwhile Panathinaikos team-mates has said.

The erstwhile Sheffield United prima and Greece planetary tragically passed distant earlier this period astatine the property of 31 aft drowning successful the swimming excavation astatine his villa successful Glyfada.

It emerged that Baldock was acceptable to alert backmost to England to spot his fiancee, Annabel, and their son, Brody, to observe his archetypal day the time aft his untimely death.

Shortly earlier Baldock passed away, helium spent clip astatine Panathinaikos' grooming crushed to rehab a insignificant injury. He besides spent clip successful the sauna with Alexander Jeremejeff and Erik Palmer-Brown, who recalled their last moments with him.

The brace referenced Baldock arsenic the "father of the year" - an wrong gag betwixt them - though it had other meaning fixed it was his son's archetypal birthday. Palmer-Brown went connected to stock Baldock's regret astatine the information helium was not with him, telling The Athletic that helium had said: "But it’s a spot s*** I’m not there."

He relayed that helium was excited to beryllium travelling backmost to England to spot his fiancee and lad the pursuing day. But his decease was sadly confirmed conscionable hours later.

Defender Bart Schenkeveld dropped Baldock location that evening and was 1 of the last radical to spot him. Baldock's adjacent friend, Hordur Magnusson, was successful disbelief and went to the player's villa aft proceeding the quality of his passing.

He said: "I went to effort to assistance due to the fact that I didn’t judge that George was dead.

"But erstwhile I saw 20 constabulary guys connected motorbikes extracurricular his house, and the ambulance arsenic well, the nine unit members and the investigative constabulary going inside, past I realised: ‘F***. He’s gone.’"

Baldock's erstwhile Sheffield United team-mate, Oli McBurnie, has revealed however hard the quality has deed him and others, who volition bash immoderate they tin to fto his lad cognize what an "amazing idiosyncratic his dada was."

"George loved his missus and his small lad truthful much. They’re the radical successful this that I truly consciousness atrocious for," McBurnie said. "I cognize however hard it’s been for maine and immoderate of the different boys who emotion him, but small Brody is going to turn up and ne'er cognize what a apical antheral his dada was.

"Me and the boys person said that it’s our work to beryllium portion of his beingness and effort to punctual him astatine each accidental however overmuch of an astonishing idiosyncratic his dada was."

Sheffield United paid tribute to Baldock earlier their lucifer with Leeds connected Friday night, wherever helium was honoured with a minute's applause.