Sir Alex Ferguson has paid tribute to Kevin Keegan, praising the "fantastic" job Keegan did rebuilding Newcastle United during their intense rivalry for the Premier League title in the mid-1990s. Keegan, who had cancer, died on Monday aged 75, prompting tributes from across football, with Ferguson recalling him as one of the game's most endearing and passionate characters despite their fierce on-pitch and media battles.

Ferguson said Keegan re-energised Newcastle after taking charge when the club faced relegation to the third tier, saving them from that fate before winning promotion in 1993 and building the swashbuckling "entertainers" side, featuring David Ginola, Faustino Asprilla and Philippe Albert, that finished runners-up to Ferguson's Manchester United in 1996. He called it the best team in Newcastle's history, and despite Keegan's famous televised outburst at him during that title race, Ferguson said they later reconciled over drinks near Wentworth golf club, praising Keegan for holding no grudges.