Former Newcastle United manager, Kevin Keegan has died at the age of 75.
Keegan announced in January 2026 that he had been diagnosed with stage-four cancer but after a seven-month long battle, he sadly passed away in the early hours of Monday (20 July) morning at the age of 75.
Sky Sports News presenter, Pete Graves shared a statement on behalf of Keegan’s family on his X account confirming Keegan’s death.
Truly heartbroken to post this on behalf of the Keegan family…
It is with immense sadness that we announce that Kevin Keegan has passed away at the age of 75. The former England player and manager had been battling cancer and was surrounded by his wife and daughters in his…
— Pete Graves (@PeteGravesTV) July 20, 2026
“It is with immense sadness that we announce that Kevin Keegan has passed away at the age of 75. 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.”
Born in Armthorpe, Doncaster, in February 1951, Keegan began his career at Scunthorpe where he delivered 22 goals in 141 appearances before he moved to Liverpool in 1971.
Across six seasons at Anfield, he produced 100 goals in 323 appearances and helped the Reds achieve nine titles in total, which included;
- 3 x First Division
- 2 x FA Community Shields
- 2 x UEFA Cup
- 1 x UEFA European Cup
- 1x FA Cup
Keegan went on to enjoy three seasons at Germany’s Hamburger SV with 40 goals in 113 appearances plus 1978-79 Bundesliga title, before a pair of two-season stints at Southampton and Newcastle between 1980-84, and he then finished his career at Blacktown City in Australia’s National Soccer League.
His 14-year club playing career ultimately ended with 254 goals in 744 total appearances across all competitions across six clubs.
Keegan also represented England at international level between 1972-82 in which he produced 21 goals in 63 appearances and four British Home Championship titles.
Keegan subsequently moved into management in 1992 with Newcastle and kept them in the then Second Division, before he led them to promotion and the First Division title the following season – with the league having been renamed that campaign due to the creation of the Premier League.
Once in the Premier League, he established Newcastle as a top-half team and led an unsuccessful title challenge against Manchester United in the 1995-96 season, before he resigned in January 1997.
He subsequently went on to manage Fulham for a year between May 1998-99 before he resigned to focus on his duties as England manager, having initially dualled both roles since his appointment as the Three Lions manager in February 1999.
His spell as England manager however proved difficult as they crashed out of Euro 2000 at the Group Stage but he ultimately resigned in October 2000, a day after the Three Lions lost to Germany in their opening 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier at their last home match at the Old Wembley Stadium.
He returned to club management in May 2001 with Manchester City and led them to promotion as First Division champions, which made him the first manager to achieve promotion to the Premier League with two different clubs.
Keegan however left City in March 2005 after he initially announced plans to retire at the end of that season, which led club bosses to persuade him to step aside earlier than planned.
January 2008 saw Keegan come out of retirement to guide Newcastle to Premier League survival but left nine months later due to poor transfer decisions from the club’s then-owner, Mike Ashley.
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