Jimmy Rimmer, European Cup winner with Manchester United and Aston Villa, dies aged 78

Jimmy Rimmer has died at age 78, Aston Villa announced in Birmingham, England on Friday.

Rimmer was a goalkeeper who won the European Cup with Manchester United and Aston Villa 14 years apart. He was at Manchester United from 1965-74, spent three years at Arsenal, and played for Aston Villa from 1977-83. He made one appearance for England, a friendly against Italy in 1976.

Aston Villa announced the death of Rimmer on Friday without giving any more details. The club described him as “one of the finest goalkeepers of his generation, and arguably one of the unluckiest when it came to big occasions.” In the same statement Villa gave no further information about the circumstances of his death.

In a post on X, Manchester United said it was “deeply saddened” by Rimmer's death, adding: “Our thoughts are with Jimmy’s loved ones at this difficult time.” The club’s message was the principal reaction from United to Villa’s announcement.

Rimmer collected a European Cup winner's medal with United in 1968 after being on the bench as the backup to Alex Stepney. United beat Benfica 4-1 in the final at Wembley Stadium. Rimmer did not play in that final but was part of the matchday squad and received a winners' medal.

Fourteen years later Rimmer started for Aston Villa in the 1982 European Cup final, a 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He came off with a neck injury after nine minutes and was reported to have been in tears in the locker room, but he was able to join the post-match celebrations after Peter Withe’s winner. Rimmer had started all nine of Villa’s matches in the competition that season, having been an ever-present in the English league title-winning campaign the previous season.

The article was published on August 15, 2026 at 02:47 am IST. The dateline given for the report was Birmingham, England.