Ole on Denis Law: "We are his family"
Denis Law knows that Manchester United is "his family" and the club will do everything they can to look after him, says Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Our legendary Scottish striker announced on Thursday that he has been diagnosed with 'mixed dementia' which is two forms of the debilitating disease, in this case Alzheimer's and vascular dementia.
The King explained in a moving and open statement that he wanted to outline his situation while he still can and that he is "trying to be positive" and is "determined to continue watching my club, Manchester United at Old Trafford."
Having been in attendance for our recent win against Leeds United, Law chatted with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the Theatre of Dreams, the stadium which he made his own for so many years.
“He came to the game on Saturday and I met him as we were walking out from the ground and he was of course very happy with the result," Solskjaer told club media on Friday.
"He was smiling and was his bubbly self. It caught me by surprise [the announcement] and it’s a sad situation, of course.
"But we know his family will look after him. We are his family as well and he’s going to come to games."
Tributes and heartfelt messages of support poured in on social media on Thursday after Law released the news. Supporters young and old of United know the impact that Denis had on the club, whether they saw him play or not.
For fans of younger generations, memories have been passed down through parents and grandparents who not only know Law as a great scorer of goals - 237 at United, to be precise - but also as a kind man who has time to talk to supporters.
Diagnoses of dementia for footballers of the Law era have been sadly common in the last two decades. Nobby Stiles, who passed away in October of last year, also lived with dementia, and Sir Bobby Charlton revealed earlier in 2021 that he too has dementia.
"I know there’s been research done about this terrible disease," Solskjaer said, "and hopefully we won’t see too many situations like this in the coming years as the youth football has been changing.
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"There are rules or guidelines now even in the Premier League and development as well with the new balls. Hopefully that will make a difference.”
Denis Law's daughter, Di, is completing 'The Thames Bridges Trek' challenge on 11 September to raise money for the Alzheimer's Society. Donations can be made here.