Former Italian football player Paolo Rossi, whose final goal led his national team to victory in the 1982 World Cup, has died at the age of 64 due to lung cancer.

Italian TV channel RAI Sport, for whom Rossi had been working as a pundit, announced the news on Thursday. "Such terribly sad news: Paolo Rossi has left us. Unforgettable Pablito, who made all of us fall in love in that summer of 1982 and who was a precious and competent work colleague in RAI over recent years," RAI Sport presenter Enrico Varriale said. Not long after, Rossi's wife, Federica Cappelletti, took to Instagram to post a picture of herself and her husband along with a caption which read "per sempre," which means "forever." Rossi, who has been widely regarded as one of the greatest Italian football players of all time, is the only male player in history to win the World Cup, the Golden Boot, the Golden Ball and Ballon d'Or in the same year.

In his 14-year-long career, Rossi had scored 134 goals in 338 games. While he was with Juventus, the Italian player won two Serie A titles, one Coppa Italia championship, one European Cup Winners' Cup title, one UEFA Super Cup championship and one European Cup title. However, Rossi attained his legend status when he scored six goals to guide his national team to victory in the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. Along with Roberto Baggio and Christian Vieri, Rossi is Italy's top scorer in World Cup history, with nine goals overall. Mourning his death, former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said, "In our hearts, forever. Farewell Pablito."