Kevin Keegan death: Cancer battle, Ballon d’Or winner, Liverpool FC and Newcastle United career
Football legend Kevin Keegan has passed away at the age of 75 following a battle with stage four cancer. Keegan was a two-time Ballon d'Or winner and a prominent figure in English football, known for his time at Liverpool and Newcastle United.
Why it matters
Keegan was a transformative figure in European football, influencing both the sport's tactical evolution and its commercial celebrity culture.
shares Share article Kevin Keegan, the two-time Ballon d’Or -winning football star who captained and coached England’s national team and won the European Cup with Liverpool , has died. He was 75.
Keegan’s death was announced on Tuesday by his former club Newcastle , where he had been both a player and coach.
Kevin Keegan salutes the crowd in 2008. Getty
Keegan revealed last month that he had stage four cancer.
For a time in the 1970s, Keegan transcended the English game with his celebrity status.
One of just four Englishmen to win the Ballon d’Or, he wasn’t just a brilliant football player who dovetailed nimbleness and an eye for goal with a relentless hunger and work rate stemming from his working-class upbringing in northern England.
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