Stade Brestois manager Eric Roy has died at 58, the Ligue 1 club announced, ending a coaching spell that took Brest from a relegation fight to one of the strongest periods in the club's modern history.
ESPN, citing PA, reported that Brest confirmed Roy's death Wednesday night, roughly a month after the Ligue 1 season ended with the club in 11th place. No cause of death was given in the report.
Brest Confirm Roy's Death
The club statement, quoted by ESPN/PA from Brest's official X account, said the president, management and the whole Stade Brestois 29 organization shared the grief of Roy's family and loved ones.
Brest also credited Roy with helping write some of the most important pages in club history. That tribute fits the competitive record: Roy took over at the start of 2023 and quickly stabilized a team that had been fighting to stay in Ligue 1.
The story is not being treated here as a cause-of-death report. The verified facts are the club announcement, Roy's age, his role as Brest manager and the football record he leaves behind.
Champions League Run Marked His Brest Tenure
After guiding Brest to safety following his January 2023 appointment, Roy led the club to a third-place finish in the 2023-24 Ligue 1 season. That result sent Brest into the Champions League, where ESPN/PA said the team reached the play-off round.
Ninth and 11th-place finishes followed, according to the same report. Across his time in charge, Roy won 60 of 143 matches before his death.
For Brest, those numbers explain the tone of the club statement. A third-place Ligue 1 finish and European run are not routine achievements for the port-city club, and Roy's tenure became a reference point in its recent history.
Former Sunderland Midfielder Built Broad Career
Roy played in France for Nice, Toulon, Lyon and Marseille before spending the 1999-2000 campaign with Sunderland. He later moved into post-playing work that included sporting director roles, a short spell at Watford and broadcasting work with beIN Sports and France Televisions.
His final coaching job gave Brest both stability and an unexpected high point. The club now faces an immediate human loss and a football operations gap as it prepares for the next Ligue 1 season without the manager who shaped its last three campaigns.