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Jermain Defoe’s emotional tribute to Bradley Lowery is beautiful

Published 20:24 8 Jul 2017 BST

Updated 20:56 8 Jul 2017 BST

Jermain Defoe’s emotional tribute to Bradley Lowery is beautiful

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"Your courage and bravery will continue to inspire me for the rest of my life."

Given the fact that Jermaine Defoe and Bradley Lowery were such close friends, it's inevitable that the former Sunderland striker must feel absolutely devastated following the tragic news that the brave six-year-old has passed away following his battle against neuroblastoma. Bradley captured the hearts of people everywhere as his courage, strength and smile was an example to us all. Since the news emerged, it's clear that the young Sunderland fan meant a great deal to a lot of people. https://twitter.com/FIFAcom/status/883347484461981697 https://twitter.com/SergioRamos/status/883410822017495040 https://twitter.com/premierleague/status/883348620698931200 Aside from being a massive Sunderland and England fan - Bradley was the team mascot as Defoe accompanied him onto the pitch - it's clear that the new Bournemouth striker became an incredibly close friend of Bradley as seen by the emotional interview that he gave recently. Since the sad news broke, Bradley's parents released a statement which read: "My brave boy has went with the angels today 07/07/17 at 13:35, in mammy and daddies arms surrounded by his family. He was our little superhero and put the biggest fight up but he was needed else where. There are no words to describe how heart broken we are. Thank you everyone for all your support and kind words. Sleep tight baby boy and fly high with them angels". In a similarly heartbreaking and beautiful fashion, Defoe has expressed his own sadness while paying tribute to Bradley's life. "Goodbye my friend, gonna miss you lots. I feel so blessed God brought you into my life and had some amazing moments with you and for that I'm so grateful. I'll never forget the way you looked at me and when I met you for the first time, the genuine love in those cute eyes. Really finding it hard to find the words to express what you mean to me. The way you say your name, your little smiles when the camera comes out like a little superstar and the love I felt when I was with you. Your courage and bravery will continue to inspire me for the rest of my life. You will never know what a difference you made to me as a person. God has you in his arms and I'll always carry you in my heart. Sleep tight little one. My best friend."