Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed he worries he will one day be diagnosed with dementia after heading heavy balls during his career.
Many players from his generation have been diagnosed with the condition and scientists now believe years of heading weighty leather balls may be the cause.
Billy McNeill, Jack Charlton and Nobby Stiles are just some of his contemporaries who were diagnosed with dementia and Fergie has admitted he lives in fear that he could be next.
He made the revelation in a new Radio Times interview.
Ferguson, 79, whose feature-length documentary Never Give In hits cinemas on May 27, said: “I think back to my playing days, and I used to head that ball and it was like a cannonball! That’s what I’m saying about my memory – I always worry about that.”
He also talks about the brain haemorrhage he suffered on May 5, 2018, and how not regaining his memory was his greatest concern. He said: “Getting through was always a worry.
“I lost my voice for, I think, nine to 10 days, and that was frightening, although what I really worried about was losing my memory. It took about 10 days, but when my voice came back… I could have gone and played for Real Madrid. I was so, so relieved. And then I had my memory back.”
The father of three puts his success down to his “never say die” attitude.
He said: “When I lost a game, I was better the next day. I never quit, and I think that has carried me through my life.
“Never give in is exactly me. I’ve never given in to anything.”
● The full interview is in the Radio Times, out now.
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