Royal Manchester United striker in the 1960s and 1970s, member of the Holy Trinity with George Best and Bobby Charlton, Denis Law, died on Friday aged 84 after revealing in 2021 that he had Alzheimer’s disease and of dementia, was the greatest Scottish player in history and the only one to win the Ballon d’Or.
Nicknamed « The King » by Red Devils supporters well before Éric Cantona, Law first wore the colors of the enemy, Manchester City, between 1959 and 1961. After his debut at 17 at Huddersfield, launched by his compatriot and future legendary coach of Liverpool Bill Shankly.
In 1961, he flew to Italy and Torino. There is only one season left. Thus began an eleven-year love affair with Manchester United.
Along with Best and Charlton, he embodies the club’s rebirth, undertaken by Matt Busby in the ashes of the Munich air crash in 1958 which cost the lives of eight players.
The statue of the “Holy Trinity” of Manchester United, George Best (l), Denis Law (c) and Bobby Charlton, outside the Old Trafford stadium, May 29, 2005 / PAUL ELLIS / AFP/Archives
Best, shoulder-length brown hair, awesome player and sex symbol. Law, blond hair of a rock star, formidable surface fox. Charlton, receding hairline, leader and survivor of Munich. The magic trio have their statue in front of Old Trafford.
3rd top scorer for the Red Devils
In the red jersey, the child from a modest Aberdeen family won an FA Cup in 1963, a Ballon d’Or in 1964, two league titles in 1965 and 1967 and a Champion Clubs’ Cup in 1968 , even if he was unable to play in the final against Benfica, suffering from a knee injury.
Speed, anticipation, finishing, heading, cunning: Law’s range allowed him to score 237 goals in 404 matches and become the third top scorer in Manchester United history behind Wayne Rooney and Bobby Charlton.
The striker left United in 1973 to return to City for a season. On April 28, 1974, he scored his last goal in a match against his former club, which was relegated to the second division, regardless of this result.
-The Scot ended his career with the 1974 World Cup, where he played only one match. In 55 caps, Law has scored 30 times and shares the title of top scorer with Kenny Dalglish.
Manchester United legends Denis Law (l) and Bobby Charlton surround Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, as they did before, on December 10, 2008 at Old Trafford / Andrew YATES / AFP/Archives
“He embodied everything a Scot can do. He was bold and courageous. He had bravery and style. He was a truly fantastic footballer”summed up in 2009, another Manchester United legend, Alex Ferguson, talking about his first meeting with Law.
During the summer of 2021, Manchester United and its supporters were moved when the player, described as “one of the club’s greatest legends”had announced that he was ill.
“I’m at a point where I feel like I want to be honest about my health. I was diagnosed with (…) Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia”he revealed.
“It’s an extremely difficult and problematic illness and I’ve seen a lot of friends go through it. We always hope that it will only happen to others and we even joke about ignoring the arrival of the first signs, because we don’t want to admit that it’s true.he confided.
“I don’t want people to be saddened if I forget places, people or dates, because you have to keep in mind that I enjoyed all these memories and I was lucky enough to experience all this that I have experienced in my life »concluded the former Ballon d’Or.
