FORMER CAMEROON INTERNATIONAL Valery Mezague was found dead in his Toulon apartment on Saturday although French police said his death was not being treated as suspicious.
The 30-year-old midfielder played seven times for Cameroon and featured for a number of French league clubs including Montpellier and Sochaux in the top flight as well as a brief spell on loan with Portsmouth in England in 2004-2005.
Since the start of the season he had been playing with Sporting Toulon in the French fifth division.
“An autopsy will take place on Monday, but at the moment we don’t believe the death to be suspicious,” said a spokesman for the Toulon prosecutor’s office.
In August 2003, Mezague spent 24 hours in a coma after he was involved in a car crash and it was feared he’d never play again.
But, he made an incredible recovery and it wasn’t long before he was back at the highest level in France.
However, Mezague had seen his career dip over the last five years. In 2009, he was playing in the top tier of French football with Sochaux but he quickly drifted to the lower leagues before a stint in Greece with Panetolikos.
In 2013, he briefly returned to England, popping up at League One side Bury where he played seven games.
Additional reporting by Eoin O’Callaghan
