Chelsea have described Peter Bonetti as one of the club’s “greatest-ever players” after the former goalkeeper’s death at the age of 78 was confirmed on Sunday.

Affectionately nicknamed “The Cat” for his agile displays, the Putney-born Bonetti was a Stamford Bridge favourite for his unerring loyalty to the club, having made his debut as an 18-year-old and earning his first clean sheet in March 1960. A Chelsea statement confirmed he had died after a long-term illness, while the club captain, César Azpilicueta, tweeted: “Rest in peace a true legend of our club. Sending love to Peter’s family.”

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Across two spells with Chelsea, punctuated by a short stint in the US with the St Louis Stars, Bonetti worked his way to 729 appearances, keeping 208 clean sheets, a tally surpassed only by Petr Cech in 2014. Only the defender Ron Harris, with 795, has made more appearances for the club.

Bonetti, whom the England goalkeeper Chris Kirkland described as a “true gentleman of the game” having been trained by the former international with the national team, helped Chelsea win promotion from the Second Division in 1963 and 1977. He also played in the sides that won the League Cup in 1965, the FA Cup in 1970 and the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1971, the last with victory against Real Madrid in the final.

The Football Association chairman, Greg Clarke, said he was very saddened to hear that the “hugely popular” Bonetti had died. Chelsea’s assistant manager Jody Morris also paid his respects to “a Chelsea legend and also the goalie coach when I first got into England Under-21s in 1996”.

Bonetti earned seven caps for England, conceding one goal in his first six, with much of his international career spent as back-up to Gordon Banks.

Bonetti was a member of Alf Ramsey’s 1966 World Cup winning squad but did not feature for the hosts, instead waiting until 1970 to make a World Cup appearance, deputising when Banks fell ill just before the quarter-final with West Germany. With not much more than an hour to prepare, Bonetti was at fault for Germany’s first two goals as England threw away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2. He never played for England again.

It took 43 years for the goalkeeper to receive his 1966 winners’ medal after an FA campaign to recognise the non-playing squad members of the historic side.

Despite Bonetti’s difficult time on the international stage, Chelsea’s statement noted Pelé once saying: “The three greatest goalkeepers I have ever seen are Gordon Banks, Lev Yashin and Peter Bonetti.”

Having stuck with Chelsea well into his 30s, Bonetti saw out his career with Dundee United and then Woking, before retiring to run a guesthouse on the Isle of Mull and work as a postman. He eventually returned to football as a specialist goalkeeping coach with Chelsea, then Newcastle, Fulham, Manchester City and England.

The former Wales goalkeeper Neville Southall said: “Peter Bonetti was that nice when he coached us we had sessions where we tried to get him to lose his temper. After two hours he got mildly annoyed. Coolest guy ever.”