Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson paid tribute to Kevin Keegan following the death of the former Newcastle United boss at the age of 75. Keegan, remembered as one of football’s most charismatic figures, passed away on Monday after a battle with cancer.

Ferguson acknowledged Keegan’s significant impact on Newcastle, describing the team he built as the club’s “greatest.” During the early 1990s, Keegan inherited a Newcastle side threatened with relegation to the third tier of English football. Under his management, the club narrowly avoided that fate and subsequently earned promotion to the Premier League in 1993.

Keegan’s Newcastle teams became renowned for their exciting, attacking play, which earned them the nickname “the entertainers.” Their style pushed Ferguson’s Manchester United to a tense title race climax in the 1995-96 season, which United ultimately won. The competition between the two managers was intense, and their rivalry included a memorable television moment in which Keegan responded passionately to comments made by Ferguson during the title chase.

Despite their on-field battles and occasional media tensions, Ferguson maintained a respectful relationship with Keegan. He credited his former rival with reinvigorating Newcastle’s supporters and bringing a sense of enthusiasm and passion to the club. Ferguson also highlighted Keegan’s recruitment of key players such as David Ginola, Faustino Asprilla, and Philippe Albert, who added quality and flair to the team during that period.

Speaking to Track Radio on Tuesday, Ferguson reflected on the challenges Newcastle posed to Manchester United in those years, calling them “huge” and emphasizing the high regard in which he held Keegan both as a manager and as a figure within the sport.

Kevin Keegan's contribution to English football, both as a player and a manager, remains widely respected, and tributes from across the game have underscored his enduring influence and the affection in which he was held.