Manchester United greats led the mourners at Denis Law's funeral in Manchester on Tuesday, three weeks after the Scottish football legend died at the age of 84. Legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson was among the attendees at Manchester Cathedral, where former United stars including Wayne Rooney, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Gary Neville, Lou Macari, Bryan Robson, Darren Fletcher, Peter Schmeichel and Gary Pallister gathered to pay their respects. Members of the current United squad, led by manager Ruben Amorim and captain Bruno Fernandes, were also in attendance, as was Liverpool legend Sir Kenny Dalglish, a former Scotland team-mate of Law's.
The former striker's cortege left Old Trafford at 1:10pm before making its way to Manchester Cathedral for the service. Law died on 17 January aged 84 after a battle against dementia. He scored 237 goals in 404 appearances for United, winning two league titles, the European Cup and the FA Cup. He remains the only man to have two statues dedicated to him at Old Trafford - one on the Stretford End concourse, the other as part of the United Trinity statue overlooking the stadium's forecourt beside fellow greats George Best and Sir Bobby Charlton.
Law is also the only Scottish player to have won the Ballon d'Or award, with his win coming in 1964. He also played for Huddersfield Town, Manchester City, and Italian club Torino during his club career. Ferguson fought back tears as he paid an emotional tribute to his compatriot. He said: “'He would fight his granny for a goal. He had so much courage. A skinny guy standing by all those big defenders.”.
He added: “Trying to place Denis in the pantheon of all time greats is a challenge. But it is made easier by Pele. “He was asked if there was a British player who could get in the [great] Brazil team. He said Denis Law - which is a fantastic tribute.”. The former star's hearse and funeral procession passed the ground at about 1.10pm before processing along Chester Road, Sir Matt Busby Way and the East Stand forecourt. It paused in front of the Trinity Statue, before exiting the stadium complex.
Flags around Old Trafford were lowered and a book of condolence was opened for fans between 12pm and 2pm in the hospitality reception in the East Stand. The service at the cathedral began at about 2pm with many of United's former stars attending, along with the present-day squad. But the Glazer family, United's majority owners, were not planning to attend the funeral. It is the second time the Glazers have failed to attend such a huge event having not been to the funeral of Sir Bobby Charlton in November 2023.
Back then, the Florida-based billionaires decided that the risk of getting abuse from supporters could detract from the occasion. The Americans did not want to make unwanted headlines and stayed away to allow all the focus to be on Charlton. Tributes flooded in for Law when his passing was announced by his family. Rooney, former United captain and the club's all-time record goalscorer, described Law as a "legend". He added: "Thoughts with all Denis's family and friends.".
Another former United captain, Neville, said: "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.". Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Manchester United content from Mirror Football. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
