French football manager Eric Roy dies aged 58 after lengthy cancer battle | OneFootball

Eric Roy, the esteemed manager of French club Brest and a former Sunderland midfielder, has died at the age of 58, the club announced on Wednesday night.

His passing comes just a month after the Ligue 1 season concluded, with Brest finishing in 11th position, and following a lengthy pancreatic cancer battle.

Roy, who kept his cancer diagnosis private for three-and-a-half years, enjoyed a distinguished playing career across France with clubs including Nice, Toulon, Lyon, and Marseille, before spending the 1999-2000 campaign in England with Sunderland.

Following his retirement from playing, he transitioned into a successful post-playing career, taking on various sporting director roles before his impactful tenure as Brest’s head coach.

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Eric Roy led Brest into the Champions League (Getty)

He took the helm at Brest at the start of 2023, following a brief and unsuccessful period as sporting director at Watford. After guiding the team to safety following his January appointment, the port city outfit remarkably finished third in the 2023-24 campaign, securing qualification for the Champions League play-off round.

Subsequent seasons under his leadership saw ninth and 11th-placed finishes. Roy, who also worked for broadcasters beIN Sports and France Televisions, won 60 of his 143 matches in charge of Brest.

In an emotional statement shared on Brest’s official X account, the club expressed profound grief: "It is difficult to find the words to express all the sadness we feel following the passing of our coach Eric Roy. The president, the management, and the entire Stade Brestois 29 share the pain of his family, his wife, his two children, as well as all his loved ones."

The statement continued: "Eric Roy was an inspiring person who brought so much to Stade Brestois. Loved and respected by the supporters, he helped write the most beautiful pages in the club’s history and enabled it to reach a historic level.

“So many things could be said today, but above all, it is the emotion and grief of losing a loved one that overwhelm us. Eric, we will never forget everything you brought to the club, nor the man that you were. You will remain forever in our hearts and in the history of Stade Brestois 29."