The footballer went into a coma after numerous errors were made during an operation.
Jean-Pierre Adams, a former football player in France, has passed away after being in a coma for 39 years.
Mr Adams was 73 years old.
He is survived by his wife Bernadette and their sons Frédéric and Laurent.
The football clubs he used to play for – Nimes Olympique, Paris Saint-Germain and Nice – confirmed his death in a number of statements.
On Twitter, Nimes wrote: “This morning, we learned about the death of Jean-Pierre Adams. He played for Nimes on 84 occasions and alongside Marius Tresor, he formed the ‘Black guard’.
“The club offers its most sincere condolences to his loved ones and family.”
As well as offering their condolences to Mr Adams’ friends and family, Paris Saint-Germain said in a statement that the club lost “one of its glorious former players”.
In a statement, Nice said that they would pay tribute to Adams before their next home game, which will take place on 19 September.
The athlete, who was born in Darkar, Senegal in 1948, became one of the first Black footballers to play for Nimes. He played for the club for three years between 1970 and 1973. He then joined Nice, and between 1977 and 1979, he played for PSG.
CNN reports that in 1982, he suffered cardiac arrest and brain damage after “numerous errors” were made during a scheduled surgery on a damaged tendon on his knee.
At the time, the hospital was experiencing staff shortages due to a strike. During the operation, he was incorrectly incubated. He subsequently went into a coma and was cared for at his home in France for almost four decades.
