FOOTBALL icon Keegan revealed the cheeky quip he made to his doctor as he bravely opened up on his battle with stage four cancer.
King Kev, 75 â widely regarded as one of Englandâs greatest footballers â addressed his illness while speaking on stage in Newcastle last night.
At the beginning of the year, the former England boss was admitted to hospital after suffering with abdominal symptoms.
His family then confirmed the Liverpool icon had been diagnosed with cancer and would undergo treatment.
Yesterdayâs appearance at the Tyne Theatre marked Keeganâs first public outing since confirming his diagnosis.
Speaking to host Peter Graves, he confirmed he will return to St. Jamesâ Park for the first time since his last spell as manager in 2008.
He said he wants to say a proper âgoodbyeâ to the club, having left under a cloud following a public fall out with former owner Mike Ashley.
Keegan told the audience: âI want to say goodbye. I didnât get the chance when I left the club last time.â
The ex-Newcastle player and manager also described a meeting with a doctor where they discussed his treatment.
Keegan said: âThey said we have a top doctor with this new way of fighting what you have got. Which is stage four cancer.
âHe was a Liverpool supporter so I went to meet him. I knew I wouldnât be walking alone, if you know what I mean.â
Speaking about a cheeky quip he made, Keegan added: âI asked the consultant what his success rate was⊠He said, âAbout three out of 10â.
âI said to him if he was a striker and he only scored three times out of 10 Iâd drop him. But so far, whatever he did to me, itâs working.â
On Saturday, Keegan spoke ahead of his appearance at the Tyne theatre.
In a short clip on X, Graves said: âIâm starting to get really excited because 48 hours from now the Tyne Theatre is going to be packed out.
âIâm going to be walking out with my hero and yours, the one and only Kevin Keegan.
âWeâre having a last-minute meeting with the legend thatâs hereâŠâ
King Kev is then seen sitting on a sofa, wearing a sharp light grey suit and black shirt.
As they greet each other, Graves says: âHow ya doing, mate?â
And Keegan jokingly replies: âStill alive⊠thank you.â
In January, Kevinâs family and his beloved Newcastle United revealed the starâs cancer diagnosis.
A statement read: âKevin Keegan was recently admitted to hospital for further evaluation of ongoing abdominal symptoms.
âThese investigations have revealed a diagnosis of cancer, for which Kevin will undergo treatment.
âKevin is grateful to the medical team for their intervention and ongoing care.
âDuring this difficult time, the family are requesting privacy, and will be making no further comment.â
Keegan won three First Division Championships, two UEFA Cups, one FA Cup and a European Cup in his playing career at Liverpool.
He also won the Ballon dâOr twice â the only Englishman ever to achieve this feat.
As a manager, he is famous for his âI would love it if we beat themâ rant at Sir Alex Ferguson.
The infamous rant came as his Newcastle side threw away a 13-point lead and lost the Premier League title to Man Utd in 1996.
After quitting as Newcastle manager in 2008, the adopted Geordie vowed never to return to St Jamesâ Park while Mike Ashley remained.
He spent two seasons on Tyneside as a player before almost landing the Magpiesâ first league title since 1927 as manager in 1996.
He scored 49 goals in 85 appearances for the club and later took them from the brink of relegation to the third tier to the Prem in two seasons.
Keegan then took on managing England as the full-time replacement for Glenn Hoddle in 1999.
His teams included legendary players such as Alan Shearer as captain, David Beckham, Sol Campbell, Gary Neville and David Seaman.
But he resigned from the role in October 2000 after losing to Germany in their first 2002 World Cup qualifier.
