Montpellier president Louis Nicollin has died at the age of 74.
The club confirmed the passing of the maverick, who has been president of Montpellier since 1974, on Thursday.
Nicollin a beloved and colourful character who was known as Loulou 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.
C est avec une immense tristesse que nous avons appris le décès de notre Président Louis Nicollin ce jeudi 29 juin
— MHSC (@MontpellierHSC)
French footballers including Andre-Pierre Gignac and Anthony Knockaert were among those to pay tribute to Nicollin, who memorably dyed his hair orange and blue after Montpellier won a shock Ligue 1 title in the 2011-12 season.
My favourite president, how sad, my thoughts are with Laurent Nicollin and his family, Gignac wrote on Twitter.
Knockaert posted: How sad to learn of the death of a man like Loulou Nicollin Life is cruel #RIP #LEGEND.
Grosses pensées pour Louis Nicollin et ses proches. Un grand Monsieur du Football Français nous a quitté aujourd hui.
— FFF (@FFF)
