David Beckham has shared a heart-breaking tribute to Sven-Goran Eriksson on Instagram – featuring what the star says he knew would be his final meeting with the ex-England manager.

Becks’ social media post features a silent clip of him and the late Swede, 76, walking, talking and laughing at what appears to be Eriksson’s home in Sunne.

He issued the tribute after the football legend’s family announced his death earlier today following a long battle with pancreatic cancer, during which Eriksson inspired the world with his positivity.

The video did not have a date attached – but comes after Eriksson revealed earlier this year that Beckham had visited him with a personal chef and a crate of expensive wine drawn from significant years of the manager’s career.

Eriksson’s family were around the Swedish icon’s bed when he passed away earlier this morning – and the news has triggered a flood of tributes from across the footballing world and beyond.

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David Beckham and Sven-Goran Eriksson seen together in a post Beckham made on Instagram earlier this evening

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Becks’ touching tribute to his former manager has been liked hundreds of thousands of times

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Eriksson and Beckham in Portugal in 2004 during the European Championships. Eriksson brought England some much-needed panache but never saw them to a title

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Eriksson oversaw a refinement to England’s playing that saw them become a more competitive force on the world stage – including Beckham’s 2001 awe-inspiring free kick against Greece

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Eriksson breathing a sigh of relief after that free kick guaranteed England’s qualification for the 2002 World Cup

Wembley Stadium pays tribute to ex-England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson

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Eriksson applauding ahead of England’s fateful World Cup quarter-final against Portugal in 2006 – the match would ultimately prompt him to resign after England lost 3-1 on penalties

Looking back at Sven-Goran Eriksson’s career as England manager

Beckham’s post has been liked almost 350,000 times since it was posted earlier this afternoon.

In the caption, the former England midfielder said that he knew that the meeting with his former coach would likely be his last.

He wrote: ‘We laughed, we cried & we knew we were saying goodbye.

‘Sven thank you for always being the person you have always been: passionate, caring, calm & a true gentleman.

‘I will be forever grateful for you making me your captain but I will forever hold these last memories of this day with you and your family.

‘Thank you Sven and in your last words to me: “It will be ok”.’

It is not known when the video was filmed – but Eriksson revealed in June that Beckham had visited him after he announced in January that he had been given ‘at best’ a year to live.

During an interview with Radio Sweden’s P4 Varmland channel two months ago, the 76-year-old said Becks had visited him on his farm outside Sunne.

‘He came with six litres of wine from dates that were important to me,’ Eriksson had revealed.

‘He had wine from 1948 – the year I was born, very nice of him. He is genuine, he could have been a big diva, but he is quite the opposite.’

Beckham also brought wine from 1982, when Eriksson won the UEFA Cup with IFK Goteborg, and 2000, the year he won the Serie A title with Lazio.

Eriksson added: ‘The previous day he had sent a chef who fixed the food, and then he came and was here for a day, we sat chatting, a lot about football.

‘It confirms, in a way, how great he is. He didn’t have to come here. I felt proud that he came.’

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Eriksson quit the England post after the team was knocked out of the 2006 World Cup by Portugal during the quarter-finals (pictured with a dejected Beckham after the match)

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Eriksson and Beckham pictured in 2006 leaving for the World Cup in Germany

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Beckham and Eriksson pictured in 2002 ahead of the World Cup which saw the team reach the quarter finals before being knocked out by Brazil

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Eriksson pictured in January as he announced his cancer news to the world – prompting an outpouring of praise and love for how he was dealing with his diagnosis

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Sven Goran-Eriksson with Fernando Torres during the Liverpool Legends match in March – at which he fulfilled his lifelong dream of coaching the Anfield side

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Sven-Goran Eriksson was widely celebrated before his death – seen here at Stadio Olimpico, the home of ex-team SS Lazio, in May

He then became England’s manager in 2001 – the first foreign manager of the team – and brought with him some much-needed tough love, adapting the squad into a more sophisticated and tactically refined outfit.

While he was never able to take the Three Lions all the way to a trophy, his ice-cool demeanour and refusal to let the critics win – and his steady hand guided players like Becks, Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney to legend status.

He took England to a resounding 5-1 World Cup qualifying triumph in 2001 against Germany – and a month later, Beckham’s last-gasp free kick that brought the team to level pecking against Greece

However, he had been praised for his inspiring and optimistic outlook on his diagnosis, in which he implored others to live life to the full.

Shortly after going public with his diagnosis, he revealed a lifelong dream to manage Liverpool – a goal he was able to fulfil in March when he coached the Liverpool Legends to a 4-2 win against Ajax Legends at Anfield.

Earlier this year, he told MailOnline Beckham had been among those he had spoken to after making the news of his cancer public in a Swedish radio interview.

He said: ‘It’s been really crazy. The telephone phone hasn’t stopped ringing since the radio interview was broadcast, I’m surprised by all this support, I didn’t expect it all. I never imagined this sort of reaction.

‘To be honest the broadcast shouldn’t have gone out until Sunday but it did and that’s OK there is nothing I can do but I have had so many calls, all the time, it’s nice.

‘I’ve spoken with David Beckham, I won’t say what he said but it was very good of him to call. We speak every now and then, every few months and I also heard from (ex Man City boss) Roberto Mancini.

‘I’ve heard from people who were at the Football Association when I was there, Wayne Rooney’s agent sent me a message and then there were surprise calls from people I hadn’t heard from in years but it’s like that.’

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Sven-Goran Eriksson in a recent Amazon Prime documentary about his life, entitled ‘Sven’

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Sven-Goran Eriksson with his partner Yaniseth Alcides in Stockholm, Sweden, on January 22

‘I know it’s there’: Former England manager shares emotional message

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Sven-Goran Eriksson’s children Lina and Johan (pictured in Stockholm in June 2014) said today of their father: ‘He has for a long time fought bravely with his illness, but now it came to an end’

In a Prime Video documentary issued days before he died, Sven had opened up about the highs and lows of his life – including how he was coping with the news he had been diagnosed with cancer.

He said: ‘It was a shock. It’s one of those which will not go away.

‘But you can slow them down hopefully. I have no pain but I know it’s there.

‘One day it will take you. Before that day, live instead of sitting down thinking about what and when it will happen.’

Eriksson’s children, Lina and Johan, said in a statement: ‘Our father Sven-Goran Eriksson fell asleep peacefully in his home at Björkefors outside Sunne this morning. He has for a long time fought bravely with his illness, but now it came to an end

‘Our thoughts go out to Sven-Goran’s father Sven; girlfriend Yaniseth and her son Alcides; to his brother Lasse and wife Jumnong, as well as to all good friends and acquaintances in Sweden and around the world.

‘Dad told us at the beginning of this year about his serious illness and received an amazing response from friends and football fans around Europe.

‘He was invited to several football teams in England, Italy, Portugal and Sweden. They shared their love for football and for dad. It was unforgettable for both him and us.

‘He expressed his appreciation and joy and stated that such beautiful words are usually only uttered when someone has died.’

They included a quote from Sven himself, in which he said: ‘I get to hear it while I’m alive and I’m incredibly grateful for that. The heart beats twice and the tears come.

‘I have had the best job in the world and I was happy every day for long periods. It’s been fantastic.’

Lina and Johan added: ‘We have shared his gratitude and got to experience the wonderful meetings between him, football and all his friends. We thank everyone for these positive memories and your support during his illness.

‘We hope that you will remember Svennis as the good and positive person he always was both in public and at home with us.’