Man United great Law diagnosed with Alzheimer's and vascular dementia

"I am at the point where I feel I want to be open about my condition. I have been diagnosed with 'mixed dementia', which is more than one type of dementia, in my case, this being Alzheimer's and Vascular dementia. This has been an extremely difficult year for everyone and the long periods of isolation have certainly not helped," said Law in a statement by the club.  

The 81-year-old won the Ballon d'Or in 1964 and is third on United's all-time list of scorers with 237 goals in 404 matches behind Bobby Charlton and Wayne Rooney.  

"It is an incredibly challenging and problematic disease and I have witnessed many friends go through this. You hope that it won't happen to you, even make jokes about it whilst ignoring the early signs because you don't want it to be true. You get angry, frustrated, confused and then worried, worried for your family, as they will be the ones dealing with it." 

Law, who scored 30 goals in 55 matches for Scotland, further said, "However, the time has come to tackle this head on, excuse the pun. I recognise how my brain is deteriorating and how my memory evades me when I don't want it to and how this causes me distress in situations that are beyond my control. I do understand what is happening and that is why I want to address my situation now whilst I am able, because I know there will be days when I don't understand and I hate the thought of that right now." 

 Manchester United has offered support to the Aberdeen-born Law and his family. "Denis Law will always be one of this club's greatest legends and everybody at Manchester United sends our love and best wishes to him and his family. We know our fans around the world will also rally behind him. We applaud Denis's brave words and will continue to offer whatever support we can as he adapts to this challenging condition."