Paul the psychic octopus has died at the Sea Life Centre in Germany, where he was enjoying his retirement.

Paul shot to fame during the 2010 World Cup when he correctly predicted the outcome of eight matches in the tournament.

The predictions happened when two boxes were dropped into Paul's tank, with food and a flag in each box. Paul would decide which country would win the game and slide into the relevant box to eat the food.

Paul predicted the correct outcome for each of Germany's group stage matches and the country's run through to the World Cup semi-final. At that stage Paul picked Spain to win, and he went on to pick Spain to beat Netherlands in the final.

After picking Spain to beat Germany, the octopus was subjected to death threats, with some fans saying he should be thrown into a deep-fat fryer. But there is no suggestion that anything sinister happened to Paul as Stefan Porwoll, manager of the Oberhausen Sea Life Centre in Germany, said: "He appears to have passed away peacefully during the night, of natural causes, and we are consoled by the knowledge that he enjoyed a good life here."

But one question is left hanging: did Paul predict his own death?