Former Benin forward Razak Omotoyossi has passed away at the age of 39, Afrosport reports.
Omotoyossi was born in Lagos, Nigeria, but opted to represent Benin, making his debut in 2004 during the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
He earned 51 caps for the Cheetahs, scoring 21 goals, which puts him second on the country’s all-time top scorer’s list, three goals behind leading marksman Stephane Sessegnon.
He featured at the 2008 and 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, netting one goal in each tournament. He notably scored eight goals during the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, finishing as the third-highest goalscorer behind Burkina Faso’s Moumouni Dagano and Cameroon legend Samuel Eto’o.
Omotoyossi had a nomadic career that saw him play for 15 clubs across Benin, France, Sweden, Moldova, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco and Saudi Arabia between 2004 and 2021.
His most notable stint was with Helsingborg in Sweden, where he was crowned Allsvenskan top scorer in 2007 along with Marcus Berg after netting 14 goals.
He also played for Moldovan giants FC Sheriff, Metz in France, Zamalek in Egypt and Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
