Ugo Ehiogu's best man Dwight Yorke 'devastated' at death of friend

Dwight Yorke has spoken of his devastation at the death of his friend Ugo Ehiogu, who he was best man to at the Tottenham coach's wedding in 2005.

The 44-year-old passed away on Friday morning after suffering a cardiac arrest at the Premier League's club's training ground the previous day.

The football community rushed to pay their respects to Ehiogu, who enjoying a playing career spanning over two decades before taking up a coaching role with Spurs, with former team-mate Paul Merson breaking down on TV during an emotional tribute.

Yorke, who like Merson played alongside Ehiogu at Aston Villa, spoke of the bond he had with his "dear friend" who was born exactly one year after him.

"I'm obviously devastated. Ugo as a person has been good to me as an individual but, more importantly, I send my condolences to his lovely wife Gemma and his lovely young son and daughter.

"Words cannot describe how I feel at this point in time. He was a dear friend to me and many other people out there. To have such a young person to leave us at some an early stage, it's quite devastating. It's hard to comprehend.

"Everybody knows me and Ugo were pretty tight as friends. He was like a brother to me even though I was slightly older than him. We were born on the same day, so there was a special bond between me and Ugo.

"I was given the honour to be his best man at his wedding, so many fond memories that we shared together. We have become very, very close and this news is devastating.

It's gone beyond football because after all these years we still remain friends. We spoke about four or five days ago and he was planning on going to the Caribbean with his family for the holidays.

"I just still can't believe he's gone, it hasn't quite registered."