Kevin Keegan, a former Liverpool, Newcastle and England striker, was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer last year.
Former Liverpool, Newcastle and England striker and manager Kevin Keegan has died at the age of 75 after a battle with cancer, his family has announced.
Regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation and twice winning the Ballon d’Or award for the world’s best player in 1978 and 1979, he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and underwent treatment in January.
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“It is with great sadness that we announce that Kevin Keegan has passed away at the age of 75,” Keegan’s family said in a statement on Monday.
The statement said he was surrounded by his wife and daughters in his final moments.
The iconic former England player and manager, nicknamed ‘Mighty Mouse’, was a dynamic striker who won four English top-flight titles with Liverpool before joining German club Hamburg in 1977.
He returned to England and played for Southampton and Newcastle United before turning into management.
He led Newcastle to promotion to the Premier League in 1993, and in 1996 they finished runners-up to Manchester United, establishing themselves as a top-flight force known as “The Entertainer”.
Keegan served as Fulham manager before becoming England manager from 1999 to 2000.
He also spent four years as manager of Manchester City, before ending his managerial career with a brief return to Newcastle in 2008.
“Kevin, a two-time Ballon d’Or winner, was a much-loved husband, father and grandfather. The family would like to thank his incredible medical team for all their support,” the statement added.
“These are very difficult times and they want space and privacy.”
“A true giant of our history”
Tributes have been pouring in for Newcastle United, with Keegan described as a “beating heart” who has helped change perceptions of what a team can be.
“As manager, he set our city on fire. Kevin gave supporters hope and pride and led a team whose style, spirit and passion captured the imagination of football fans around the world,” the Premier League club said in a statement on Monday.
“Above all, Kevin forged an extraordinary bond with Newcastle based on his father Joe’s roots. He understood our people. He embraced the North East with genuine and abiding passion and in return earned his rightful place in the hearts of millions of people.
“Kevin’s influence cannot be measured by appearances or results; it will live on in the memories he made with club and country, the dreams he inspired wherever he went and the generations of supporters around the world who fell in love with football because of him.”
“His achievements at Liverpool, our ‘Mighty Mouse’, will forever be etched in history,” said a statement celebrating his storied career, which saw him win his first European Cup at Anfield.
The club shared excerpts of comments Keegan made in 2011.
“The people I met, Shanks, Tommy Smith, Ian Callaghan, Ron Yates, all these people you can get something out of.
“My fans made me who I am. When they started singing my name… what am I, 5-foot-7 with Cuban heeled boots? But (thanks to my fans) I was 6-foot-6.”
Manchester City have paid tribute to Keegan, who he described as a “transformational manager who brought optimism and vitality” to the club’s rise to the top of the Premier League.
Southampton recalled that when they signed the Ballon d’Or holder in 1980, he brought “great joy to Dell fans and the whole football world”. Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur praised him, calling him “one of the greatest players ever to play our game.”
“Keegan is a legend in English sport and his impact as a player and manager will be remembered by generations of football fans,” the English Football League said in a statement.
Former Liverpool star Jamie Carragher said Keegan’s string of accolades proved he was “an absolute giant of the English game”.
“One of the most important people in making (Liverpool FC) what it is today,” Carragher said in a post for X.
