Gianluigi Buffon leads tributes to Davide Astori following midfielder's death

Long-serving Italy captain Gianluigi Buffon has paid tribute to former international teammate Davide Astori following the midfielder's death at the age of 31.

Astori, capped 14 times by the Azzurri since making his debut in 2011, passed away in his hotel room overnight with a "sudden illness".

Buffon is among those mourning the sudden passing of the Fiorentina skipper, who leaves behind a wife and two-year-old daughter.

"You have a young wife and family members who are suffering," he posted on his official Instagram account, accompanied by a picture alongside his one-time teammate and opponent. "Your little girl deserves to know that her father was in all respects a perfect person.

"You were the best expression of an ancient, surpassed world, in which values ​​such as altruism, elegance, education and respect for others, were the masters."

Ciao caro Asto, difficilmente ho espresso pubblicamente un pensiero riguardo una persona, perché ho sempre lasciato che la bellezza e l'unicità di rapporti, di reciproca stima e affetto, non venissero strumentalizzati o gettati in pasto a chi non ha la delicatezza per rispettare certi legami. Nel tuo caso, sento di fare un'eccezione alla mia regola, perché hai una moglie giovane e dei familiari che staranno soffrendo,ma soprattutto la tua piccola bimba, merita di sapere che il suo papà era a tutti gli effetti una PERSONA PERBENE.....una GRANDE PERSONA PERBENE....eri l'espressione migliore di un mondo antico, superato, nel quale valori come l'altruismo, l'eleganza, l'educazione e il rispetto verso il prossimo, la facevano da padroni. Complimenti davvero, sei stata una delle migliori figure sportive nella quale mi sono imbattuto. R.I.P. Il tuo folle Gigi.

A post shared by Gianluigi Buffon (@gianluigibuffon) on Mar 4, 2018 at 4:41am PST

Other high-profile figures to pay their respects to Astori were Andrea Pirlo and Paulo Dybala, the latter simply posting: "Without words. Rest in peace Davide Astori."

Senza parole. Riposa in pace Davide Astori pic.twitter.com/mukSojB45l

— Paulo Dybala (@PauDybala_JR) March 4, 2018

Senza parole.. alla fine se ne vanno sempre i migliori... buon viaggio amico mio. RIP ❤️ pic.twitter.com/BHwH5abZZ6

— Andrea Pirlo (@Pirlo_official) March 4, 2018

Former Fiorentina manager Roberto Mancini also took to social media to post: "I learned with great pain what happened to Davide Astori. My condolences to the family."

Ho appreso con immenso dolore quanto accaduto a Davide Astori.  Le mie condoglianze alla famiglia e un abbraccio alla Fiorentina! pic.twitter.com/jYc1TFfuSE

— Roberto Mancini (@robymancio) March 4, 2018

AC Milan legend Clarence Seedorf added: "Life is precious and we need to enjoy every day of it. I send my most sincere condolences to Davide's family and I thank you Davide for having been a great opponent on the pitch and for all you have done for football. Rest In Peace."

Life is precious and we need to enjoy every day of it. I send my most sincere condolences to Davide's family and I thank you Davide for having been a great opponent on the pitch and for all you have done for football. Rest In Peace #DavideAstori

A post shared by Clarence Seedorf (@clarenceseedorf) on Mar 4, 2018 at 4:04am PST

Astori emerged through Milan's youth ranks before joining Cagliari in 2008, spending eight years at the club ahead of a switch to Fiorentina.