Kevin Keegan, English football legend, has died

The former English footballer and coach Kevin Keegan he died at the age of 75. The family announced it in a statement. “With immense sadness we announce that Kevin Keegan has died at the age of 75. The former England player and manager was battling cancer and was surrounded by his wife and daughters in his final moments,” the statement read.

The family remembered Keegan as “a much loved husband, father and grandfather”, also thanking the medical team who cared for him during his illness. “This is an extremely difficult time and we ask that our privacy be respected,” the statement concludes.

Some sad news to bring you.

Former England player and manager Kevin Keegan has passed away at the age of 75 after battling cancer. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. pic.twitter.com/oSdOv8aNBO

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 20, 2026

La carriera di Kevin Keegan

Keegan was one of the greatest protagonists of English football in the seventies and eighties. Forward of Liverpool, Hamburg, Southampton and Newcastle, he won two Golden Balls consecutively, in 1978 and 1979. With the English national team he collected 63 appearances and 21 goals.

A snippet of one of the most iconic football interviews of all time.

Kevin Keegan, one of football’s good guys. pic.twitter.com/535LfqedkO

— kieran (@kieran_ashton1) July 20, 2026

Nicknamed “King Kev”, Keegan was included in 2004 in the FIFA 100, the list of the 100 best living footballers drawn up on Pelé’s recommendation for the centenary of FIFA. In the ranking of the best footballers of the 20th century published by World Soccer magazine, he occupies 56th position.

As a coach he led the Newcastle United from 1992 to 1997, taking the club from the First Division to the Premier League and close to the title in the 1995-96 season, then Fulham from 1997 to 1999, the England national team from 1999 to 2000 and Manchester City from 2001 to 2005, before a brief return to Newcastle in 2008.