“In his mind, he was going to start a new season”: Eric Roy’s wife gives a poignant account of his final months

Eric Roy continued coaching Brest while privately fighting stage-four pancreatic cancer. His wife, Loetitia Roy, said he wanted to honor the contract he had just signed and avoid becoming “the sick man” around the club.

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A gift to free him and to free me a little too.

Doctors diagnosed the cancer in December 2022. “We switched into fighter mode, together,” Roy said at the time. The couple decided not to tell everyone because they feared other people’s fear and sympathy would change his relationships at work. Only Brest’s directors and a few close friends, including Jérôme Alonzo, knew the truth.

Brest University Hospital adapted Roy’s treatment to the European competition calendar. He tried to conceal the effects of the illness, wearing a cap to hide his hair loss and retreating to the dressing room before some matches to endure the worst effects of chemotherapy.

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We switched into fighter mode, together.

Loetitia Roy said his condition deteriorated during the final months of the 2026 season. She traveled with him because he could barely dress himself or walk. Compression stockings made his legs feel enormously heavy, she said, and players eventually realized how unwell he was.

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He did not want to become the sick man. He did not want people’s pity or any privileges.

The worst moment came after Brest’s final match against Angers, when Roy was too ill for his wife to watch his news conference. He died on June 17 at the age of 58, the same day he and Loetitia would have celebrated their 31st wedding anniversary.

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I traveled with him because he could not even dress himself and could barely walk.