The heartbroken wife of Denis Law told how Alzheimer’s and dementia took away his freedom and left him able to remember his glorious past.
The Scotland and Manchester United legend was diagnosed with the illness in 2021 and remained committed to bringing awareness to his disease before his sad death on Friday.
A family statement declared: “It is with a heavy heart that we tell you our father Denis Law has sadly passed away. He fought a tough battle but finally he is now at peace. We would like to thank everyone who contributed to his wellbeing and care, past and much more recently. We know how much people supported and loved him and that love was always appreciated and made the difference. Thank you.”
‘The King’, as he was known at Old Trafford, was one of United’s greatest-ever players. During his 11-year spell at the English giants he bagged 237 goals and scored arguably Manchester’s most famous derby goal – for City, as he starred for the blue half of the divide, as the Mirror reports.
Law and his wife Diana spoke out about the challenges of caring for a partner with dementia as part of an Alzheimer’s Society campaign in March 2023, as they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.
“It took away your freedom,” said Diana. Denis acknowledged: “It’s very difficult.”
Diana continued: “Denis doesn’t remember the past things. You live for today and you don’t look to the future. I didn’t see our future moving like this, with dementia. Because he was such a fit person.”
Their moving testimony added: “When you get married, you never imagine that decades after making those vows of ‘in sickness and in health’ that you will end up testing them to the limits with dementia.
“We tackle everything together. But living with dementia means Diana has to take responsibility a bit more now although we still come as a team of course. It’s a change for both of us.
“It goes to show that dementia can affect anyone, no matter who you are. I’m extremely lucky to have enjoyed such an amazing career in football.
“Not many people have had the experiences I have had – including winning the World Cup! I have been shown such love from the public.”
Former United captain Gary Neville paid tribute on social media, writing: “Rest in Peace Denis. A great footballer and a great man. It’s a privilege and an honour to have spent time in your company. The King of the Stretford End.”
United great Bryan Robson, who worked with Law in an ambassadorial role for the club, called the Scot a “fantastic man”.
“We have lost one of football’s giants both as a player and a gentleman. It’s incredibly sad,” he said in a column in the Daily Mail. “Denis was more than just a fantastic footballer, he was a fantastic man. So generous with his time and everything delivered with that great sense of humour of his. He would always be in my greatest ever Manchester United XI. He was a player so many of his peers idolised and with good reason, that iconic image of him with his sleeves pulled down and the one arm salute after scoring.”
Former Scotland international Joe Jordan called Law a “proper icon”.
He said on BBC Radio 5 Live: “Denis was a special player and to lose someone like him, I think will affect an awful lot of Manchester United fans. A proper icon for his ability on the field to score goals but he had a special edge to him, not just as a player but as a person. He was a special player. Denis Law is one of the greatest players to ever play for Scotland.
“What he achieved at club level, people associate Manchester United with Bobby Charlton, George Best and Denis Law. That speaks for itself, he was a special player.”
Law’s club career began at Huddersfield and the West Yorkshire club called him an “immortal of the sport”.
They said in a statement: “All at Huddersfield Town are profoundly saddened to learn of the passing of Denis Law. A legend of not only our great club, but an immortal of the sport as a whole, he will be deeply missed and his memory cherished by us all.
“Our collective thoughts are with Denis’ family and loved ones at this time. Once a Terrier, always a Terrier.”
Kate Lee, Chief Executive at Alzheimer’s Society said: “We are deeply saddened by the news that Alzheimer’s Society supporter, Denis Law, has died with dementia.
“We’ll be forever grateful that Denis and his family raised not only money for Alzheimer’s Society but a great deal of awareness too. Talking about his diagnosis, Denis once said ‘you hope that it won’t happen to you’.
“The sad reality is that one in three people born in the UK today will go on to develop dementia and a million people are currently living with it. That number is projected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040. We need to get everyone talking about dementia – the health and care crisis of our time – because a problem of this scale won’t go away on its own.”
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