AFL legend Greg Williams has paid tribute to late Sydney Swans owner Geoffrey Edelsten after his death aged 78.
The former owner of the Swans died at his apartment in Melbourne on Friday afternoon, with the death not being treated as suspicious.
Edelsten played a key role in getting the Swans up and running after the club moved from South Melbourne to Sydney when he bought the Swans back in 1985 for a reported $6.3 million, clearing the club of all its debts.
Central to his purchase of the Swans was the recruitment of future Brownlow Medallist Williams, along with teammates David Bolton and Bernard Toohey from Geelong.
Despite later leaving the Swans and enjoying a successful career at Carlton, Williams never forgot how Edelsten looked after him after he made the move up north.
"He was a great man Geoffrey," Carlton great Greg Williams told 3AW.
"People had an opinion of him but he was a lot different than the actual opinion. He was a great guy with a great heart and he loved the Swans even though he barracked for Carlton.
"He loved football and he couldn't have looked after me any better than he did.
"I loved Dr Edelsten. All the blokes who played for the Swans I'm sure there's great memories there."
Along with his association with the Swans, Edelsten was also a long-time benefactor of the Carlton Football Club, and was awarded life membership in 2013.
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