Football legend Denis Law insisted that heading the ball was directly to blame for his dementia diagnosis.
And the former Manchester United star, 81, said he now wants all retired players to get tested every year for the condition, which has affected so many of his former team-mates.
In his first interview since his diagnosis was made public last week he said he was in no doubt that the heavy leather balls he played with are responsible. And he recalled how he stopped heading the ball in training towards the end his career because it was “sore”.
An emotional Denis said: “What else would it be? That was what caused damage to the brain. You were heading the ball, which was quite heavy in those days, but you didn’t think about it. We just thought it was normal.
“Now as time goes on, you are thinking, ‘Why should I be having this problem?’ When you are playing two games a week and heading the ball in games then there are obvious dangers.
“I would support anything that stops this illness affecting other players.”
Revealing that he stopped heading the ball in training towards the end of his career for his own health, he said: “I decided I no longer wanted to head the ball when I wasn’t playing in games. It wasn’t very nice, particularly when it was wet and it was quite sore at times.”
In 1964 Denis won the Ballon d’Or award, then awarded to the best player in Europe, the only Scot so do so.
Since revealing his diagnosis Denis has been messaged by some of the game’s greats, including Sir Alex Ferguson.
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And he revealed he has known for five years that something was not right.
He said: “My memory has not been so good. I hadn’t been going out, seeing friends.
“After a while you start forgetting people you really know because you haven’t spoken to them. The family said, ‘You must make it known to the public’, which I didn’t particularly fancy.
“But I was getting worse, forgetting people’s names.”
He said: “People realise that if you head the ball even today that there are risks. There definitely needs to be more research.”
Denis who has both Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia, said: “I want to address my situation, while I am able – because there will be days when I don’t understand and I hate the thought of that right now.”
