The death of 31-year-old footballer George Baldock, who was found unresponsive in the swimming pool of his home in the southern Athens suburb of Glyfada in October 2024, has officially been ruled an accident, according to a coroner’s report issued in the UK.

Senior coroner Tom Osborne, presenting the findings at Milton Keynes Coroner’s Court on July 23, confirmed that Baldock died from drowning. The report found no traces of drugs or alcohol in his system, and identified megacardia—an enlarged heart condition that can trigger cardiac arrhythmias—as a contributing factor that may have caused the player to lose consciousness while in the water.

Found Hours After Death

According to earlier Greek media reports, Baldock had already been dead for approximately five hours before his body was discovered by a housekeeper at his Glyfada residence. Emergency responders rushed to the scene, where police officers pulled him from the pool. Paramedics officially pronounced him dead shortly afterward.

Initial reports at the time noted that the cause of death had not yet been disclosed, adding to the shock and grief surrounding the incident.

A Loss That Resonated Across Borders

Baldock’s untimely death sent shockwaves through both Greece and the UK. A dual national, he had been capped by the Greek national team and was well known to English football fans for his seven-year career at Sheffield United. In May 2024, he had transferred to Panathinaikos, bringing Premier League experience to the Greek side.

Before joining Sheffield United, Baldock played over 100 games for MK Dons between 2009 and 2017, making a name for himself as a tenacious and reliable defender.