Derek Acorah played for Liverpool and claimed he spoke with legendary Reds manager Bill Shankly prior to finding fame as a medium.
The 69-year-old self-styled spiritual medium died after falling into a coma on Friday night, his devastated wife Gwen announced on Saturday morning.
Derek was best known for his work on TV show Most Haunted, in which he claimed to channel spirits. But the Bootle-born star had a career in football before turning to mediumship - and even played for Liverpool.
Derek was signed by the Reds on schoolboy terms when he was just 15.
From there he went on to represent a number of lower league clubs including Wrexham and Stockport before heading out to Autralia.
Down under Derek played for Adelaide before finally calling it a day aged 27, and hanging up his boots.
Derek claimed that he spoke to legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly prior to seeing his television and radio career take off in the early 2000s.
The encounter purportedly took place during a reading at a spiritualist church and involved Shankly telling him to forget about football and embrace mediumship.
Derek was treated in intensive care following a "brief illness" prior to falling into a coma.
His wife Gwen wrote on Facebook: "Farewell my love! I will miss you forever! I'm devastated to announce that my beloved husband Derek has passed away after a very brief illness.
"Thank you so much to everybody who has supported me - I can never thank you enough."
