Former Newcastle United chairman Freddy Shepherd has passed away.
Twitter: #Breaking Former Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd has died, his family said in a statement https://t.co/SEFv1p4t3a (@PAdugout)
The statement released by his family states that Shepherd, who was 76, “passed away peacefully at his home last night”.
Tributes have already began to flood in for the former Magpies chairman, who oversaw the deal to sign Premier League record goalscorer Alan Shearer from Blackburn Rovers back in 1996.
Twitter: So sad to hear my great friend and former @NUFC chairman Freddy Shepherd has passed away. I owe him a huge debt for bringing me home.
RIP (@alanshearer)
The Chronicle write that Shepherd was described as a “North East oligarch” by the Financial Times in 2010 — the businessman was the son of a lorry driver but in 2014 had an estimated net worth of £100 million from various endeavours.
Newcastle United enjoyed some of their best times under his chairing of the club, with the likes of Kevin Keegan and Alan Shearer, who Shepherd was vital in bringing to St James Park, now firmly and deservedly seen as club legends.
Our thoughts are with Freddy’s friends and family at this difficult time.
