Tributes have poured in for Matt Beard after the former Liverpool, West Ham and Chelsea manager died aged 47.
Beard had two spells in charge of Liverpool and led the Reds to back-to-back WSL titles in 2013 and 2014. He returned to the club in 2021 but was sacked in February.
He took West Ham to their first ever FA Cup final in 2019 and also had spells in charge of Millwall, Boston Breakers, Bristol City and Burnley.
Beard’s wife, Deb, wrote on social media: “It is with great sadness that our beautiful Matthew Beard has passed away tonight [Saturday] at 7.28pm. He is a loving husband, father, son, brother and uncle. He was the most amazing, caring man who was loved by anyone who had the pleasure to meet him.
“All of our family kindly ask for time to grieve in peace at his loss. We will love you forever, you absolute legend.”
Emma Hayes hailed Matt Beard as “one of the best humans” and a “champion in the women's game” following his sudden death.
Chelsea said in a statement that Beard “helped shape Chelsea Women” during his three-year tenure and credited him for “laying much of the foundations” ahead of Hayes replacing him in 2012 before she embarked on a trophy-laden spell.
Liverpool paid tribute to “an extremely committed and successful manager”, while West Ham said they were “heartbroken”.
His brother Mark paid tribute to the “most amazing, caring man who was loved by anyone who had the pleasure to meet him”
"We will love you forever Matt Matt," he said in a social media post.
The FA called Beard a “key figure” in women's football and the WSL said in a post on social media: “Matt played an instrumental role in the growth of women's football and will be missed by everyone associated with the game.”
After three years with Chelsea, Beard won back-to-back WSL titles with Liverpool in 2013 and 2014 in his first spell in charge and led the side to their maiden Champions League campaign.
He rejoined Liverpool in 2021 following spells with Boston Breakers in the United States, West Ham and Bristol City.
Beard guided Liverpool to promotion back to the WSL in his first season back at the helm and remained in charge until February.
Beard was most recently appointed Burnley manager in June but resigned after just two months in charge.
Manchester United described Beard as a “giant” of the women's game, posting on X: “Matt was a fierce opponent of ours; a giant of women's football.”
Another of his former clubs Millwall, with whom he started his managerial career, also paid tribute, as did Charlton, where Beard had a coaching spell.
