( CNN ) -- Ecuador international Christian Benitez , the top scorer in the Mexican league last season , has died suddenly at the age of 27 . The striker popularly known as 'Chucho ' passed away in the Qatari capital Doha , one day after playing his first game for new side El Jaish . Having played at the 2006 World Cup as a youngster , Benitez had developed into an important component of an Ecuadorian side bidding to reach next year 's finals in Brazil . His 24 international goals make him the third highest scorer overall for Ecuador 's national team . Jose Chamorro , the player 's agent , told an Ecuadorian television station that Benitez had suffered a heart attack and died in hospital , where he had been taken after complaining of abdominal pains . Manchester United star Antonio Valencia , an international colleague of Benitez who played with the striker at leading Ecuadorian side El Nacional a decade ago , was among those struggling to come to terms with the loss . `` This pain ( is ) very strong my brother but we love you , '' the winger wrote on Twitter , where he also posted several pictures of the diminutive forward . Despite being a footballer who failed to hit the heights in Europe , news of Benitez 's death trended on Twitter . Ecuador 's interior minister Jose Serrano was among those who took to the micro-blogging site to comment , writing : `` Dear Chucho , thank you for your goals and your happiness . '' Sunderland 's Craig Gardner , who played with Benitez at Birmingham City between 2009 and 2010 , was also moved to comment . `` Ca n't believe Christian Benitez has died , '' Gardner wrote . `` I had the pleasure to play with him . He was a top bloke . My thoughts go out to his family . '' Having only signed Benitez three weeks ago , El Jaish were forced to confirm news of his death on their website . `` The club would like to offer its sincere condolences to the family of the player , '' a club statement said on Monday . `` Benitez had recently joined the club from Club America for three seasons . The player participated for the first time with the team during yesterday 's match against Qatar Sports Club in the Sheikh Jassem Cup without complaining of any health problems . `` His sudden departure is a big shock for each member of the technical and administrative staff . He was a player that over the short period he was here was regarded for his high moral character . '' The son of former international Ermen Benitez , who is still the top league scorer in Ecuadorian football history , Christian made his name at El Nacional , a club where his father played with great success throughout the 1980 's . After leaving the Quito side , who posted a tribute on their website to Christian on Monday , the South American plied his trade with such success for Mexico 's Santos Laguna that he alerted the interest of the English Premier League . Joining Birmingham City on loan in 2009 , the Ecuadorian made his debut at Manchester United and scored his first goal at Liverpool . Despite a bright start , his impact faded over the season , prompting Birmingham manager Alex McLeish to return Benitez to Santos Laguna in 2010 . After leading the scoring charts , he joined rivals America in 2011 and helped the club win this year 's Clausura title -- finishing as top scorer along the way . He was still contracted to the club until moving to Qatar this month , but America also paid respects to a key player of recent times . `` Christian will always be present in our hearts and we will never forget you . Rest in peace , '' read the club website . Benitez 's last international goal came when in a 4-1 World Cup qualifying win over Paraguay in Quito in March . The Ecuadorians , who failed to qualify for the 2010 finals in South Africa , lie third in South American qualifying , with a quarter of the campaign still left to play . The top four teams in the nine-team group will automatically qualify for the 2014 World Cup . People we 've lost in 2013 .
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