Luke Littler continued the defence of his World Matchplay title with a tense 11-8 win over Nathan Aspinall in Blackpool.

The reigning champion produced a nine-dart finish in the opening leg, coming incredibly close to a second nine-darter within four legs.

Aspinall fought back from 7-5 down just as it looked like the match was getting away from him, and himself managed a 170 checkout, though Littler ultimately proved too strong.

Littler, who progresses to the quarter-final, told Sky Sports: “That was amazing. That’s the best game me and Nathan have had.

“Seeing the averages, I thought his was going to be a bit better. He gave it his all.

“His 170 was the best ever hit against me, fair play to Nathan Aspinall. I’m glad to take part in such an amazing game.”

Littler will next take on Josh Rock, who defeated an off-colour Stephen Bunting 11-6 in the final match of the night.

In Tuesday’s other matches, Michael van Gerwen’s campaign was ended by a 14-12 defeat to fellow Dutchman Dirk van Duijvenbode.

Van Gerwen recovered from 8-4 down to level the match at 10-10 but Van Duijvenbode won out.

Scotland’s Gary Anderson also progressed to the last eight with an 11-7 win over Welshman Jonny Clayton.

The close friendship between President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino might become a working relationship.

Trump reportedly wants Infantino to be the next secretary-general of the United Nations, per the New York Post.

Trump has faith that Infantino is “respected by everyone around the world,” and following the first-ever FIFA World Cup in three different countries, the 45th and 47th president of the U.S. believes the world “recognizes he has a special ability to bring people together,” a source told The Post.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino hold the FIFA World Cup winner’s trophy before handing it over to Spain captain Rodri at the award ceremony following the FIFA World Cup 2026 final between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on July 19, 2026. (Getty Images)

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Fox News Digital on this matter.

Infantino, the Swiss-born leader of soccer’s largest governing body, grew close to Trump while organizing the World Cup. Trump was included in many different aspects, including Infantino awarding him FIFA’s inaugural Peace Prize back in December.

Trump was also seen handing out the Club World Cup trophy last year at MetLife Stadium, and he was present to give Spain’s Rodrì the World Cup trophy on Sunday afternoon at the same venue after Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 to win the tournament.

FOX WORLD CUP ANNOUNCER SAYS TRUMP’S APPEARANCE AT FINAL IS ‘FUN, UNIQUE THING’ DESPITE POTENTIAL BACKLASH

During the match, Trump was seated between First Lady Melania Trump and Infantino, while the World Cup trophy was spotted in his suite for viewing prior to handing it out on the pitch.

The next secretary-general of the UN will be elected later this year, and that person will begin their post on Jan. 1, 2027. Portugal’s António Guterres will be stepping down come December.

Whether Infantino will be considered for the role remains to be seen. He must first be endorsed by all 15 members of the Security Council before receiving confirmation from the General Assembly. The Security Council’s five permanent members each have veto power.

Infantino must also want the post himself, and it’s unclear whether that is the case here. FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Fox News Digital.

US President Donald Trump and FIFA president (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) Gianni Infantino talk in the Oval office of the White House after signing an executive order for a task force related to the FIFA World Cup, in Washington, DC, on March 7, 2025 (Jim WATSON / AFP)

If Infantino wishes to run for secretary-general, The Post learned that Trump believes he would be running against seven “lame” candidates, including Chile’s former socialist president, Michelle Bachelet.

Argentina’s Rafael Grossi also could be a contender for the role, though the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency may face resistance from the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands — a heavily disputed situation between the two countries which found its way into the World Cup.

Paolo Zampolli, who serves as Trump’s special envoy for global partnerships, said to The Post Infantino “would do a great job,” believing he is “liked by everybody.”

Zampolli has reportedly dealt with FIFA in the past, as the Italian-American businessman and diplomat pitched to Infantino to replace Iran with Italy for the World Cup in an effort to repair the relationship between Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Zampolli was also a former ambassador to the UN for Dominica.

“At the United Nations, you have to deal with 193 member states. In FIFA, there are over 200 members [and] Gianni’s great record shows he knows how to manage,” he told The Post.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino, President Donald Trump, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney attend the awards ceremony after the FIFA World Cup 2026 final match between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on July 19, 2026. Spain defeated Argentina with a goal from Ferran Torres in the 106th minute of extra time. (Getty Images)

Infantino, however, did come under fire by some soccer organizations around the globe after the reversal of Folarin Balogun’s red card for Team USA in the World Cup ahead of their Round of 16 match against Belgium. Trump confirmed he called Infantino for a review of the controversial red card, which would’ve had Balogun, the team’s leading goal scorer at the time, miss the win-or-go-home match.

Infantino faces an election of his own next year, as March 2027 will be when the FIFA Congress decides whether he will run a fourth term.

Meanwhile, Trump has not shied away from his views about the UN since returning to office, cutting the U.S. contributions to the organization, while pulling out of the World Health Organization (WHO), UNESCO and the UN Human Rights Council.

President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino hold the FIFA World Cup Winner’s Trophy before handing it over to Spain captain Rodri at the award ceremony following the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19, 2026, in East Rutherford, N.J. (Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

If Infantino doesn’t want the post with the UN, and he is re-elected by the FIFA Congress to remain president, he will be organizing yet another tournament in 2027. The FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be held in Brazil, takes place before an even bigger FIFA World Cup in 2030.

To honor the 100th anniversary of the tournament, the matches will begin in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay before the majority of them are played in Spain, Morocco and Portugal. Much like this year’s World Cup, history will be made as no tournament has ever been played in six different countries and three different continents.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

The PGA Tour and Europe-based DP World Tour have announced a multi-year partnership with the Asian Tour, an organisation that previously supplied players to the rival LIV Golf circuit.

This new collaboration, leveraging their existing strategic alliance, aims to establish a formal pathway for leading Asian Tour members.

The agreement is set to run for at least the next three years, marking a significant development in professional golf.

“Positive news and great to see respective tours working together for the good of international golf,” world number two Rory McIlroy wrote on social media.

As part of the partnership, which is effective immediately, the DP World Tour will return to co-sanctioning select tournaments with the Asian Tour from 2027 after previously linking up on a strategic alliance from 2016 to 2021.

“We are delighted to rekindle our historic relationship with the Asian Tour and indeed strengthen it with the addition of the PGA Tour to our new partnership,” DP World Tour Chief Tournament and Operations Officer Ben Cowen said in a joint press release.

The Asian Tour had previously been in a partnership with LIV Golf since before the Saudi-funded league held its inaugural event in June 2022.

Through their partnership, LIV had invested $300 million in the Asian Tour to create a set of 10 lucrative events known as the International Series and featuring purses of at least $2 million.

But Asian Tour Commissioner and CEO Cho Minn Thant said the “time is now right” to collaborate with the DP World Tour and PGA Tour to enhance the Asian Tour for its members, fans and partners.

“Bringing the three Tours together under one partnership will increase the bandwidth of the professional game in Asia,” said Cho.

“Not only will co-sanctioning events see our members competing regularly on the global stage, but we are excited to welcome players from the other Tours to our pinnacle events, which showcase the strength and diversity of golf in Asia.”

When asked for a reaction to the partnership, a LIV spokesperson said they had no official statement.

Christian Hardy, the PGA Tour’s senior vice president of international, called the three-tour alliance an example of collaboration by tours “with a shared vision for the future of professional golf.”

The Yankees‘ scheduled game against the Pirates Tuesday night was postponed due to weather, setting up a doubleheader on Wednesday and it’ll include some big-name pitchers for New York. Former Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole will get the ball for Game 1 and All-Star lefty Max Fried is now scheduled to start Game 2 in his first appearance in more than two months.

Fried has been on the shelf since May 16 due to a bone bruise in his left elbow and hasn’t pitched in the majors since May 13. Interestingly, earlier on Tuesday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone (via MLB.com) said Fried would take one more minor-league rehab start before rejoining the rotation. Things have apparently changed in the hours since. 

In 32 starts last season, Fried was 19-5 with a 2.86 ERA, finishing fourth in AL Cy Young voting in his first season with the Yankees. In 10 starts this season prior to his injury, he was 4-3 with a 3.21 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 50 strikeouts against 19 walks in 61 ⅔ innings. 

MLB Power Rankings: When did the AL East turn into a real race? Plus, a surprise contender heating up again

Matt Snyder

Advertisement

Fried only made one rehab start, giving up two runs on five hits in three innings on 52 pitches. Given that he’s not fully stretched out just yet, it seems possible that Will Warren (originally scheduled to start on Tuesday) could piggyback Fried in this outing. 

An interesting wrinkle here, with Cole and Fried pitching on the same day, is that it’ll be the first day both are on the Yankees’ active roster together. Fried was signed as a free agent in the offseason leading into 2025 and Cole missed all of 2025 after having Tommy John surgery. He returned to the rotation on May 22 this season, roughly a week after Fried went down with an injury. 

Along with Fried and Cole, All-Star Cam Schlittler is another frontline starter for the Yankees and they’ll look to add former All-Star lefty Carlos Rodón back from the injured list in the coming weeks. Warren and Ryan Weathers add depth in what could be a stellar rotation down the stretch. 

The Yankees enter Wednesday’s doubleheader at 56-44, 1.5 games behind the Rays in the AL East standings. 

I don’t think I have taken a look at an Athletics game in this space in 2026, but that changes Tuesday. The A’s have been flailing for weeks, though they did manage a victory Monday night. Still, they look to be in a good fade spot tonight at Arizona in the second game of their three-game series. It’s a 9:40 p.m. ET first pitch from Chase Field, and the Diamondbacks are -136 money line favorites in our consensus MLB odds, while the Over/Under for total runs scored is 9.5. 

Athletics-Diamondbacks MLB pick (DraftKings)

• Arizona to not bat bottom 9 (+110)

It might seem like forever ago to Athletics fans – what few are left with the team leaving Oakland – but the club spent 44 days alone or tied for first place in the AL West earlier this season. As recently as following a June 18 victory over the Angels, the A’s were sitting at 38-38 and only a half-game out of the division lead. They had about a 30% shot of making the playoffs via the SportsLine Projection Model.

Now the club is 43-57 with a 1.3% shot and much closer to the AL West last-place Halos than a wild card spot. In fact, the Athletics have the worst run differential in the majors by far at minus-111. Part of that is playing many games in that hitter-friendly Sacramento minor-league park. They also had a handful earlier this year at a Las Vegas minor-league park that proved to be an utter launching pad. Manager Mark Kotsay is on a major hot seat.

Bet on MLB action at FanDuel, where new users can get up to $1,000 in Bet Reset Tokens:

I don’t really get this because there is some really good young talent on the roster, led by All-Star catcher Shea Langeliers. They also have 2025 AL Rookie of the Year and outfielder Nick Kurtz and shortstop and 2025 AL ROY runner-up Jacob Wilson – he homered in Monday’s 5-2 victory. The lineup generally hasn’t been the problem — the pitching staff has. It owns a 5.29 ERA that is better than only Colorado. The Athletics have 20 quality starts, 34 fewer than the MLB-leading Dodgers.

JT Ginn has been pretty good in the rotation, and rookie Gage Jump has shown promise, but that’s about it. Every other pitcher who has made double-digit starts has an ERA of at least 4.16. Converted reliever Jack Perkins (2-5, 6.87 ERA) gets the call tonight, his seventh start and 25th appearance of the season. The Athletics have lost his past five trips to the mound. Perkins followed an opener last time out in Detroit but still took the loss, allowing three runs over three innings.

The 26-year-old faced Arizona last year as a rookie and was shelled for four runs and five hits over three innings of a home loss. The model projects him at 5.3 innings, 5.9 strikeouts, 4.5 hits allowed and 2.7 earned runs tonight. That all seems generous.

Bet on MLB at DraftKings, where new users get $150 in bonus bets after placing a $5+ first wager:

Arizona should be a buyer ahead of the trade deadline, sitting only a half-game out of the final NL wild card spot. That race could be fascinating the rest of the way with a good six teams in the mix. The Snakes are -245 for extra baseball and +200 for No. The model gives them a 22.0% chance.

Do the Diamondbacks have the pitching themselves to get there? Maybe if Corbin Burnes makes it back from Tommy John surgery, but now that’s apparently not before September if even then. Usual stalwarts like Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly are having down seasons. Gallen and fellow starter Michael Soroka are on the injured list – Gallen’s season might be over — so Arizona needs a body for Tuesday, and that apparently will be rookie lefty Kohl Drake on the mound in the 26-year-old’s debut in the Show.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pounder, one of three prospects who came over from Texas at the 2025 trade deadline, is ranked as the franchise’s No. 10 overall prospect. He is 3-5 with a 6.92 ERA in 66.1 innings this season at Triple-A Reno.

Obviously, that’s not a good ERA, but you can often throw that number out in the Pacific Coast League (where Reno plays) as all those parks are quite hitter-friendly. Drake has been called up a few times the past couple of years but has yet to pitch. The Athletics have struggled against lefties at 12-22, and the model forecasts Kohl at 5.0 innings, 4.9 strikeouts, 6.2 hits allowed and 2.5 earned runs. 

Make your MLB picks at BetMGM Sportsbook and get up to $1,500 in bonus bets if your first bet loses:

The Athletics took advantage of no Corbin Carroll in the Arizona lineup on Monday, but Carroll should be back in there and Sacramento last won back-to-back games June 25-26. Obviously, I wish it were a veteran pitcher for the Snakes and not a guy making his debut, but they should hit Perkins around. Check out other expert picks in the SportsLine daily newsletter. 

The Rules of Golf are tricky! Thankfully, we’ve got the guru. Our Rules Guy knows the book front to back. Got a question? He’s got all the answers.

During a friendly 4-ball, teeing off on a blind par-4, my playing partner could not find her tee shot. The group searched for more than 3 minutes for her ball. My partner decided to “pick up” rather than head back to the tee. Soon enough, another player in the group checked the hole for fun — no one had thought to look there, since it was a par-4 … and there it was. A hole-in-one! But was it really, given the circumstances? – Teresa White, Purchase, NY

Really, it was, even if it sounds like the group didn’t get the free round of drinks owed at the 19th hole.

Your partner indeed made a hole-in-one — and, even rarer, an albatross to boot! The fact that the ball wasn’t found in the search time didn’t matter, nor did her “picking up,” because she had already completed the hole. Rule 6.5, “Completing Play of a Hole,” completely covers this situation.

For the answer to another hole-in-one query, read on …

A member at our club made an ace, then called a penalty on himself, claiming he teed the ball ahead of the marker. All this to avoid paying for drinks after the round, when tabs have reached $2,000. Was this legal? – John Karam, St. Petersburg, Fla.

The thrill of victory and the agony of… the bar tab.

Let’s say this occurred in match play. Under Rule 6.1b, which covers playing from inside the teeing area, the opponent gets to choose whether to cancel Mr. Cheap Ace’s stroke, so if that opponent prefers a free drink and losing the hole, so be it — don’t cancel the stroke and the hole in one stands.

In stroke play, once the player has called the penalty on himself, he gets two penalty strokes — but remember, the stroke into the hole now doesn’t count and the player has to correct the mistake by playing from within the teeing area (as opposed to “That’s a 1 with a 2-stroke penalty for a 3”).

If he doesn’t correct the mistake, he’s disqualified. Some might argue that a player calling a penalty to gain an advantage is antithetical to golf’s spirit, and the Committee could go the DQ route via serious misconduct under Rule 1.2a.

But the game of golf assumes honorable golfers and takes them at their word, unless there’s hard evidence to the contrary. Suspicions aren’t facts, and the “advantage” here is purely financial, not competitive — quite the contrary, since he has cost himself strokes. Maybe it seems a bit naive, but Rules Guy, for one, prefers it that way, even if it means paying for his own single-malt Scotch at the 19th hole.

Contract extensions can be tricky things. Re-sign or extend too soon, and the player may fall short of expectations, causing regret. Re-sign too late, and things can get ugly in a hurry, leading to increased dollar amount and possibly bad blood. That too, might be something to regret. Even an act of indifference such as letting a deal expire and letting the player walk free and clear is a potentially regretful situation for the Dallas Cowboys to find themselves in.

While contract extensions will always be second-guessed, regardless of the logic and regardless of the circumstance, we will attempt to hammer out some today as we navigate these tricky extension situations facing the team in 2026

Advertisement

The Cowboys have more than a few players up for new deals, but which players demand extensions now, which ones are more wait-and-see and which are too risky to re-up and just something that should ride out?

Williams is locked in through the 2027 season, but the Cowboys’ commitment to him is obvious and the intention to extend has been made clear. Instead of waiting until this time next year, it may be more economically responsible to extend him now.

Williams, 28, is slated to count over $21M in 2026 and over $25M in 2027.  With the market currently set at $35M/year, getting ahead of this now makes more sense than waiting until the market grows larger and Williams is on the wrong side of 30. An extension with a boost in pay now could soften the blow, ease the tension and commit to a player everyone feels extremely good about.

Advertisement

This is an impossibly difficult situation that has me firmly on the fence. On one hand, Overshown is a game-changing talent with All-Pro ability. On the other hand, he’s a player who had multiple knee injuries and someone who’s missed more games than he’s played.

It comes down to this: Even if Overshown stays healthy and plays brilliantly in 2026, can the Cowboys afford to pay a player with his medical history top of the market prices? That question led me to propose a one-year extension earlier in the offseason. Giving him a megadeal off just one healthy season is too risky but if he can stay healthy for 2026 and 2027, it makes such a committment a little less scary. But deals like that are rare, and for the purposes of this exercise, Overshown is too risky to sign on a high-dollar deal now, or over the next offseason.

The deadline to an extension has already come and gone for Pickens and the Cowboys, so this really just came down to “reassess” or “ride it out” status here. If Pickens repeats his 2025 breakout campaign and posts over 1200 yards and double-digit touchdowns, the market will explode for him. If he falls back to the production levels of previous years and/or raises behavioral concerns, his value will tank. It all makes the Cowboys’ approach to wait-and-see completely logical.

Advertisement

At the end of the day, Pickens’ high is too high to rule out an extension. Even with all the money going to the offense already, a multi-year deal has to be considered if he proves dominant once again. His situation demands open minds and potentially open wallets.

You can follow Reid on X @ReidDHanson and be sure to follow Cowboys Wire on Facebook to join in on the conversation with fellow fans!

This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: 3 Cowboys in need of contract extensions, 3 different paths

Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in extra time on Sunday evening to claim their second World Cup title.

Ferran Torres scored a dramatic extra-time winne and shattered Lionel Messi‘s dreams of a triumphant farewell to football’s greatest stage.

Barcelona striker Torres lashed home a thumping finish in the 106th minute to reward a dominant display by Spain against an Argentina team who failed to register a single shot on target in 120 minutes.

A star-studded crowd of 80,663 that included US President Donald Trump packed East Rutherford’s MetLife Stadium to see if Argentina captain Messi could crown his glittering career with a second World Cup victory.

But the 39-year-old maestro, almost certainly playing in his final World Cup game, was reduced to irrelevance as Spain took control early on against an Argentina team who committed a catalogue of cynical fouls throughout.

The South Americans’ skulduggery ended with midfielder Enzo Fernandez being sent off after a brutal challenge on Spain defender Pau Cubarsi in stoppage time.

For long periods though it looked as if Argentina may somehow hold on for a penalty shoot-out as Spain struggled to make the breakthrough.

Read moreSpain-Argentina live: Extra time begins with Albiceleste down to 10 men

But after Nico Williams had a goal controversially disallowed in extra-time, Spain struck.

A lofted cross to the back post by Pedro Porro found Williams who nodded into the path of Torres to crash home the goal that would clinch Spain’s second World Cup title after their maiden 2010 triumph.

“Ultimately, the goal belongs to 47 million people — not just me or the 26 players,” goal hero Torres said, referring to Spain’s approximate population.

“At the end of the day, all finals are tough; when you’re up against Messi, there’s a certain nervousness, but we always believed in our football and in ourselves.”

Messi meanwhile was seen with tears streaming down his face after receiving runners-up medals at a trophy presentation headed by Trump, who was subjected to deafening boos and catcalls as he walked onto the pitch alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

Trump and Infantino later presented the World Cup trophy to Spain captain Rodri — the midfield general who had orchestrated La Roja’s superb win.

Madrid fans react to Spain’s World Cup win

To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.

Advertisement

Accept


Manage my choices

One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.

Try again

“We have won everything, and that is wonderful,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said of his team. “They are a generation of footballers who are a source of pride for Spain. Together, we are stronger.”

Many fouls

Before Sunday’s final, many pundits had predicted a technically inferior Argentina would seek to disrupt Spain’s smooth game with cynicism.

There was an early sign of the South Americans’ cynical gameplan early on when Alexis Mac Allister went flying in with a studs-up challenge that struck Dani Olmo’s ankle.

Mac Allister escaped an early yellow card although after Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic only awarded a foul.

Spain made their presence felt moments later though, with Alex Baena poleaxing Messi with an elbow to the back that again escaped sanction.

Argentina continued to test referee Vincic’s patience with a series of niggly challenges, and Nicolas Tagliafico was lucky not to be cautioned after raking Lamine Yamal‘s calf in a clumsy challenge.

Eventually though Vincic did reach for a yellow card, with Lisandro Martinez booked for a cynical challenge on Mikel Oyarzabal.

The final’s controversial extended half-time show featuring the likes of Madonna, Shakira and Justin Bieber stretched to 27 minutes but did little to upset Spain’s rhythm.

The Spanish piled on the pressure in a lopsided second half as Argentina hung on grimly.

De la Fuente sent on Pedri and Ferran Torres for Fabian Ruiz and Oyarzabal and the chances continued with Argentina in full siege mode.

Pedri and Cubarsi both lashed long-range shots that Emi Martinez failed to grasp at the first attempt but somehow Argentina continued to hold on.

Late red card 

The arrival of substitutes Williams and Mikel Merino gave fresh life to Spain’s attacking momentum, and the onslaught continued.

Fernandez’s reckless red card left Spain down to 10 men heading into extra-time.

Martinez had one last save deep in stoppage time when Yamal’s superb whipped free-kick was clawed wide.

The Spanish dominance continued in extra-time, with Williams almost opening the scoring with a glancing header that Martinez got down well to save one-handed.

Moments later it looked as if Spain had made the breakthrough when Williams slid a low finish into the net but referee Vincic blew for a marginal foul on Nicolas Otamendi.

But the breakthrough came with Torres’s winner.

Argentina made a desperate last raid on Spain’s goal but La Roja held firm to seal victory.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Sir Alex Ferguson has paid a heartfelt tribute to his fierce managerial rival Kevin Keegan after the former Newcastle United manager’s death at the age of 75.

The legendary Manchester United boss, famously on the receiving end of Keegan’s iconic “I’d love it, absolutely love it, if we beat them” rant, expressed his profound respect for the man he credited with building Newcastle’s “best ever team”.

Speaking to Track Radio, Ferguson said: “I had the utmost respect for him. We had many duels when he was manager of Newcastle, but I have to say the job he did at Newcastle was fantastic.

“He re-energised that club and he brought that enthusiasm and fanaticism that great supporters can give. That’s the job he did.

“And he also brought three great players to the club – (David) Ginola, (Faustino) Asprilla, Philippe Albert – and added a bit of class to the team, and I must say the challenges we had with Newcastle at that time at United were huge.

“Kevin carried the love of the game on his sleeve, there’s no question about that, and that carried right on to the fans, to the players.

“That period at Newcastle was of emotion, it was excitement. They brought these great players to the club too and they added to it, and it gave Newcastle – I think – their best ever team.”

That emotion memorably boiled over in April 1996 when, with Ferguson’s United chasing down Keegan’s Premier League leaders Newcastle – they would ultimately snatch the title from their grasp – the former England striker made an emotional outburst during a Sky Sports interview.

However, Ferguson revealed the pair bumped into each other at a pub close to Wentworth Golf Club a few weeks after the season had ended and spent the night around a piano with all thoughts of football rivalry shelved.

Ferguson said: “The great thing about him, he held no grudges. That was a fantastic quality he had and we had a great night.

“All aside whatever happened in previous weeks, that was soon forgotten. I really respected him for that.”

Keegan’s death, which was announced on Monday, has prompted a tide of tributes to the former Scunthorpe, Liverpool, Hamburg, Southampton and Newcastle frontman from across the football community.

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe laid down flowers outside St James’ Park, surrounded by a number of supporters who had congregated at the ground to pay tribute to Keegan.

Sir Trevor Brooking, who played alongside him for England, said in a statement: “I am so very sad to hear the devastating news about my friend and former team-mate Kevin Keegan.

“My friendship with Kevin goes back many decades, to our playing days for England. We were lucky enough to develop a real understanding on the field of play and know what each other was thinking.

“Kevin liked to run and find space on the pitch and I’d try to time my passes to give him the best chance to use his world-class skills to score.

“We roomed together on England duty and Kevin, with his bubbly character, was never shy of making jokes, often at my expense!

“I recently met up for lunch with Kevin and Jean when they were visiting London. Although it had been a while since we’d last seen each other, we picked up our conversation as if it had been yesterday.

“That afternoon, reminiscing about our footballing days, is one I will always treasure.

“Our thoughts and love are with Jean, Laura, Sarah and all of Kevin’s family at this sad time.”