Legendary football manager Joe Kinnear has left a hefty six-figure sum to his wife after passing away at the age of 77.
The former Wimbledon and Newcastle manager died last April, having endured a long battle with vascular dementia since he was diagnosed in 2015.
Now court records have revealed the father-of-two has left his £840,000 fortune to his wife Bonnie, probate documents show. After fees, debts and costs were deducted, the total amount was £833,000.
Kinnear’s grieving daughter, Russ Duffman, previously blamed his death on heading the ball throughout his 11-year footballing career.
The Dubliner revealed he was fighting the degenerative brain condition in 2021.
An autopsy confirmed that his brain had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disorder which is caused by repeated head injuries and leads to dementia.
His family donated his brain for research and an autopsy was carried out by Dr Willie Stewart, consultant neuropathologist at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
‘Dr Stewart intimated to me that CTE was the cause of his dementia and his death,’ Ms Duffman told BBC Sport. ‘He was a defender, so it was from heading the ball.’
As a manager Kinnear was known for his cheeky humour and profanity-laced rants, but he had a colourful career as a player before that, winning the FA Cup , the League Cup twice and UEFA Cup with Spurs
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at half time pays tribute to former Spurs player Joe Kinnear following his death
Former Wimbledon manager Joe Kinnear pictured in 1967 in his days as a defender for Tottenham – for whom he played 258 times
‘The autopsy] gives you closure, but thinking about it, we just feel angry again because I feel like his career has killed him. We learned a lot, but weren’t surprised by the outcome. It does give you clarity.’
Following his death, his family said in a statement: ‘We are sad to announce that Joe passed away peacefully this afternoon surrounded by his family.’
As a manager Kinnear was known for his cheeky humour and profanity-laced rants, but he had a colourful career as a player before that.
Born in Dublin to a father who worked in the Guinness brewery, Kinnear moved with his family to Watford at the age of seven.
After captaining Watford and Hertfordshire Schoolboys, then impressing at junior level at St Albans City, he was signed by Spurs in 1963 as a promising right-back.
Kinnear made his senior debut in 1966 and played 258 games for Tottenham, winning the FA Cup, the League Cup twice and UEFA Cup. He also received 26 international caps for Republic of Ireland.
He went on to play one season for Brighton before retiring aged 30 – and it was as a manager that he really made his name.
After initially owning a pub, The Stag, Kinnear took his coaching badges and began his management career at Al Shabab Al Arabi Club in Dubai alongside former Spurs colleague Dave Mackay.
Manager Joe Kinnear in 2009 during his stint in charge of Newcastle United – where he later returned as Director of Football in 2013
Kinnear (left) makes a well-timed last-ditch tackle against Burnley’s Steve Kindon while playing for Spurs in 1970
Kinnear (far right) poses with the UEFA Cup alongside Tottenham Hotspur teammates (left to right) Mike England, Alan Gilzean, Ralph Coates and Martin Chivers (behind)
After short stints coaching the Nepal and India national teams he returned to assist Mackay at Doncaster Rovers.
But it was his role at Wimbledon, where he arrived in 1992, that cemented his managerial legend.
After leading them to a sixth place finish in the Premier League in the 1993–94 season, he was voted Premier League Manager of the Month three times as his team finished above the likes of Liverpool, Aston Villa, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur.
Kinnear continued in the role until he suffered a heart attack before a league game in March 1999. He stood down in June of that year and Wimbledon were relegated from the Premier League.
After spells at Luton and Nottingham Forest, he returned to management with Newcastle in 2008 after a four-year hiatus in a famously defiant spell.
Kinnear made headlines in 2008 after conducting a profanity-laden press conference.
He began by launching a verbal tirade at the the roomful of journalists before him, reeling off more than 500 swearwords in the first five minutes of the briefing.