Kevin Keegan dies aged 75 as family, fans and former players pay tribute to Liverpool and Newcastle icon

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I knew I wouldn’t be walking alone, if you know what I mean." Keegan first revealed in January that he had cancer.After a 'really tough time,' he felt well enough to commit to this appearance at the Tyne Theatre in Newcastle, the city that he loved and where the fans adored him.He joked that he couldn't form a dream strike partnership with Peter Beardsley and Chris Waddle as he "wasn't very fit at the moment."Liverpool, for who Keegan made 323 appearances during the 1970s, said: "Liverpool FC is deeply saddened and mourning the passing of the legendary Kevin Keegan."The former Reds No.7, who appeared 323 times and scored 100 goals for the club across six seasons, died at the age of 75 on Monday after being diagnosed with cancer last year."The thoughts of everyone at the club are with Kevin's family and friends at this hugely difficult time.One of just four Englishmen to win the Ballon d'Or, Keegan also represented Scunthorpe United, Hamburg, Southampton and Newcastle United during a playing career in which he was regarded as a hero wherever he went.Keegan also received 63 caps for his country – 31 as captain – and netted 21 times. He then moved into management with spells at Newcastle (two), Fulham, Manchester City and the England national team.Keegan's association with Liverpool began when he arrived from Scunthorpe as a 20-year-old in May 1971 .He endeared himself to fans soon after joining, scoring on his debut in the 1971-72 league opener against Nottingham Forest at Anfield.A forward partnership for the ages with John Toshack would blossom, and with it came success for the second of Bill Shankly's great Liverpool teams.He was the standout performer again in the 1974 FA Cup final with a double at Wembley to down Newcastle, where in the future he would be known as 'King Kev'.The 1975-76 Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year award came on the back of another league and UEFA Cup double for the Reds.Keegan had signalled his intention to move abroad ahead of 1976-77, shocking the footballing world given his status.He signed off at Liverpool in the best way possible, though, by firing in 20 strikes en route to earning a third league winner's medal and lifting the club's first European Cup.He won the Ballon d'Or in two of his three seasons at Hamburg and then returned to his homeland for the remainder of his time in football."'Liverpool made me, not just as a footballer but as a person'," Keegan said in 2011.

I did the adverts, I did the record, I moved abroad, I have always been one of those people who say, 'Why not?' rather than 'Why?'"."I am very lucky in that I enjoy meeting people, it is a great help in life, not just business." It made him a hugely popular figure during his playing career, as England captain, and later as a manager, even as the national side struggled under his leadership.With typical honesty, he stepped down after admitting that he did not think that he was good enough. He had stints in charge of Fulham, and Manchester City, but it was his two spells at Newcastle which defined his managerial career.In the late 90s, he managed a United side nicknamed 'The Entertainers' because of their fearless brand of attacking football.As a player, he was equally fearless, and famous for his Brut adverts with Henry Cooper, pop singles, curly perm, and an episode of the TV show 'Superstars', filmed in Bracknell in 1976, where he fell in a bike ride but got back on again despite being injured.In his 2018 autobiography 'My Life in Football', dedicated to his wife Jean and former Liverpool boss Bill Shankly - 'two people who have given me so much' - he wrote: 'It never ceases to amaze me how many people think that my lifetime achievements consist of, in rough order: the time I crashed off my bike in television's Superstars, my perm, and my top-40 record with Head Over Heels in Love."He met Jean in 1970 while riding the waltzers in Doncaster; he told her that he worked at the steelworks as he thought saying he was a footballer would sound 'too flash'.They married in 1975 after his £35,000 transfer to Liverpool.

From humble beginnings in Yorkshire, he went on to become a sporting hero to millions of football fans.His dad Joe and uncle Frank loved Newcastle and told young Kevin all about their favourite players of yesteryear, Hughie Gallacher and Jackie Milburn.Kevin was born at his aunt's house because it had electricity, making childbirth safer; his dad bought his first football boots after winning a bet on horses.At 15, he and two friends ran 50 miles from Nottingham to Doncaster, which he said prepared him for the physical demands of football.He worked as an office clerk at Pegler Brass Works before a first professional football contract with Scunthorpe United as a 17-year-old. Keegan had the common touch, and that is why he remained such a hugely popular figure throughout his career, even when his stint as England boss came to an untimely end.He said of his approach: "I buy good players and let them play." His loved ones confirmed his cancer diagnosis.In his life story, the legend of the game told fans: "I want people to dream about their football club."We should all be dreamers at heart."