And the Uruguayan club Nacional, in whose ranks O’Neal played, wrote on Twitter a “charming farewell” following his death from chronic liver cirrhosis in Montevideo Hospital, where he was rushed Saturday suffering from bleeding.
“The most talented player I’ve ever seen,” Zidane, the 1998 World Cup winner, described to his Juventus team-mate O’Neil.
After making his debut for Nacional at the age of 18 in 1992, O’Neil moved to Italy’s Cagliari three years later.
In 2000, he moved to Juventus, but following playing with the Turin giants for only one season, he moved to Perugia. He then returned to El Nacional before retiring in 2003.
O’Neal won 19 caps for Uruguay, scoring two goals.
He was part of the squad that was eliminated in the first round of the World Cup in South Korea and Japan in 2002, although he did not participate in any matches due to injury.
