Bovic Mupolo, 21, of Coventry, denied murder, but was found guilty by a jury at Sheffield Crown Court and is now awaiting sentence.

Detective Superintendent Mick Hakin of South Yorkshire Police said: “We hope that the Byrne family, as well as all his friends, can now begin to process what happened that night.”

Mr Byrne, known as Coley, was stabbed outside the Gypsy Queen in Beighton on Boxing Day night and died later in hospital.

Witnesses described seeing Mupolo with a knife at the scene.

CCTV footage showed Mupolo and a friend arriving at the pub by a taxi. A number of men spoke to them and a fight broke out. Mr Byrne was stabbed four times and Mupolo continued to fight with others before leaving. A taxi dropped them off at a house in Rotherham.

Clothing belonging to Mupolo was found at the address and blood was present on his sweatshirt.

Mr Byrne’s family said: “We, the family of Coley Byrne, are satisfied that today justice has been served. Coley was a much-loved son, brother, father, nephew and grandson.

“Coley will live on in our hearts forever and the verdict delivered today goes some way to help us process the events which took him from us.

“We now ask for privacy in the hope that we can attempt to move forward as a family.”

Det Supt Hakin added: “A lot of work by officers and staff contributed to getting to this point. The investigation was large, with multiple witnesses spoken to, many CCTV cameras watched back and many lines of enquiry followed to establish what happened to Macaulay in the Gypsy Queen and as he went outside.

“Our thoughts as always are with all those affected by what happened that night. We hope now that Mupolo has faced the courts Macaulay’s family can begin to move forward with their lives.

“Thank you to everyone who spoke to us as part of this investigation.”

Bovic Mupolo will be sentenced on Friday.

Gypsy Queen stabbing: Man found guilty of murdering Macaulay Byrne, 26, in Sheffield pub car park on Boxing Day