England football legend Kevin Keegan has died at the age of 75, his family have announced.
The former Three Lions manager was diagnosed with cancer in January after being admitted to hospital with ongoing abdominal symptoms.
Speaking back in May during his first public outing since his cancer diagnosis, Keegan said he was responding well to treatment after being assured ‘we have a top doctor with this new way of fighting what you have got’.
Keegan, one of the best footballers of his generation and a hugely popular figure in the sport, was ‘surrounded by his wife and daughters in his final moments’.
Get personalised football updates every day
Sign up to our daily football newsletter and choose your team to get the latest news, rumours and more direct to your inbox every morning.
‘It is with immense sadness that we announce that Kevin Keegan has passed away at the age of 75,’ a statement from the Keegan family read.
‘The former England player and manager had been battling cancer and was surrounded by his wife and daughters in his final moments.
‘Kevin, a double Ballon D’or winner, was a much loved husband, father and grandfather. The family would like to thank Kevin’s incredible medical team for all their support.
‘This is a hugely difficult time and they are requesting space and privacy.’
Keegan started what proved to be a hugely successful career at Scunthorpe United before being signed by legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly in 1971.
With exactly 100 goals in 323 appearances, Keegan was part of one of Liverpool’s most successful teams, helping the club win three league titles, two UEFA Cups, the FA Cup and the European Cup.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
Keegan was one of England’s most important players throughout the 1970s, captaining the team 31 times and at Euro 1980.
During his subsequent spell in Germany with Hamburger, Keegan’s impressive performances led to him being named European Football of the Year in back-to-back years and winning two Ballon d’Or awards.
Keegan had a brief but influential spell at Newcastle at the end of his playing career but secure his status as a club legend while managing the club after retiring.
In his first season in charge, Keegan guided Newcastle to promotion to the Premier League as First Division champions.
Keegan’s ‘Entertainers’ threatened to win the Premier League on more than one occasion once back in the top-flight, narrowly missing out on the title in 1995-96 to Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United.
Keegan has the honour of managing his country at the end of the decade but failed to have the impact he had at Newcastle, resigning after less than two years in the job after a 2002 World Cup qualifying defeat.
Like at Newcastle, Keegan also took Manchester City back into the Premier League in his first season at the club before his final managerial spell – a brief eight-month spell back at St James’ Park which ended due to tensions at board level.
Keegan was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002 and named by Liverpool fans as their eighth most important player of all time.
More to follow…