-Credit:PA/PA Wire
Today was the day older United fans knew was coming. The day the last surviving member of the ‘Holy Trinity’ left us.
George Best was the first to go, far too young aged just 59, in 2005, and then Sir Bobby Charlton in 2023, aged 86.
Denis Law, the charming yet lethal Scot with a beaming smile for everyone, has now joined them. He’d been ill for a while. His appearances as a spectator at his beloved Old Trafford dwindled over the years, and whenever the camera panned to him it was clear this giant of the game, known affectionately as Law Man or simply The King by supporters, was being diminished by age and ill health.
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He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and Vascular dementia in August 2021. The last time he was at the Theatre of Dreams was in February 2023, when United beat Leicester.
Despite United being a world-wide behemoth, in some ways it is like a small village. Reds of a certain vintage would make polite enquiries of their contacts, whispering: “How’s Denis?” The decline was as well-known as it was sad.
The front page of Saturday’s edition of the M.E.N. -Credit:M.E.N.
Away from his very many achievements on the pitch, he was a likeable charmer with a glint in his eye and a love of a bit of mischief. He liked to tease the late former Manchester Evening News United reporter David Meek by calling him ‘Sneaky Meeky’ in front of other United legends, knowing he was nothing of the sort. Try to imagine for one moment any modern footballer having that kind of rapport with a journalist.
Legend had it he would ensure he was ‘injured’ whenever Christmas was on the horizon during his playing days, so he could fully enjoy the festivities and a proper Hogmanay.
Not many Manchester United players would ever be forgiven for playing for Manchester City, but Denis was. He memorably scored the winner for the Blues against United in April 1974 – a goal, in the moment, that seemed to confirm United’s relegation to Division 2.
The blank, joyless look on his face spoke of a man of character, who loved United to his core. Results elsewhere meant the goal didn’t make a difference in the end.
Denis Law in 1968 -Credit:PA
Raised by fisherman father George and mother Robina in a tiny council flat, he went barefoot until the age of 12 and, when he finally did receive his first pair of shoes, they were hand-me-downs that had previously belonged to his three brothers.
He did not receive his first pair of football boots until the age of 16, but those frugal beginnings did nothing to limit a career that would one day see him crowned the best player in Europe. In the early days, though, such visions were hard to imagine for a wiry teenager whose sight was badly affected by a serious squint.
Having turned down a place at Aberdeen Grammar School – where rugby was the only sport on offer – the football-obsessed youngster got his big break in 1954 when he was spotted by Huddersfield scout.
Their manager Andy Beattie recalled: “Never did I see a less likely football prospect – weak, puny and bespectacled.”
Manchester City went on to pay a British record transfer fee of £55,000 for his services in 1960. It was with City that Law gave the first real glimpse of the fearlessness that would make him such a lethal predator, throwing his head into places others would fear to tread.
A tally of 24 goals from 50 appearances provided value for City’s outlay, but his time at Maine Road coincided with a lean spell for the Blues and Law was itching to join a team which could compete for trophies. A £110,000 move to Torino followed, but the joyless defensive tactics adopted in Serie A at the time quickly saw the Scot hankering for home.
Manchester United’s Holy Trinity – Denis Law, Bobby Charlton and George Best -Credit:Phil Cole/Allsport/Getty Images
Sir Matt Busby offered him the escape route he was desperate for and he returned to Manchester to sign for United in the summer of 1962. This time – as he became one of the few to have played for both United’s great Scot Busby and future Liverpool boss Shankley – the fit was perfect.
He won the Ballon d’Or in 1964 – the only Scottish player to do so. He won two league titles with United and was a member of their European Cup-winning side under Sir Matt Busby in 1968 when they became the first English club to lift the trophy.
He scored a total of 237 goals in 404 appearances during an 11-year spell at Old Trafford until 1973, which places him third behind Wayne Rooney and Sir Bobby Charlton on United’s all-time list.
RIP, The King.