Kenny Dalglish, 75, announced on Instagram that he is undergoing treatment for cancer
Dalglish said “the treatment is going well” and thanked medical staff for their care
Liverpool issued a statement of support to Dalglish and his family
Liverpool great Kenny Dalglish has been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing treatment.
The 75-year-old Dalglish revealed the news in a post on Instagram and said on Tuesday “the treatment is going well.”
“As ever, thank you to the wonderful medical staff who have shown incredible care and discretion, not just for me but for many, many others,” Dalglish wrote. “They are a credit to themselves.”
Dalglish, who is widely regarded as Liverpool’s greatest ever player and also coached the team in two spells, said he didn’t want to go public with his diagnosis but that he had inadvertently published the news on social media. It wasn’t immediately clear where he did that.
“Ideally, this would have remained private because that’s the way it should be,” he wrote, “but my useless technology skills have forced my hand.”
In a statement, Liverpool said: “The support, best wishes and love of everyone at Liverpool FC are, and will continue to be, with Sir Kenny and his family.”
‘King Kenny’
Affectionately known as “King Kenny” by Liverpool supporters, the former Scotland forward won five league championships and three European Cups with Liverpool from 1977-85.
Dalglish then became player-manager and led Liverpool to its first league-FA Cup double in the first season of his dual role and then to two more league titles, in 1988 and 1990.
He carried on playing until 1990 and retired at age 39 having scored 118 goals in more than 350 games for the club.
Dalglish quit abruptly as Liverpool manager midway through the 1990-91 season, mentally overwhelmed after being the club’s figurehead following the 1989 tragedy at Hillsborough Stadium — Britain’s worst sports disaster — which caused the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans.
He later led Blackburn to the Premier League title in 1995. Dalglish is one of only four managers to win the English top flight with two different clubs, and the only one to win titles before and after the inauguration of the Premier League in 1992.
Dalglish also coached Newcastle and Celtic, and had a second spell in charge of Liverpool across 2011-12.
At international level, Dalglish scored 30 goals in a record 102 games for Scotland from 1971-86, tying him as the all-time leading scorer for his country with the late Denis Law.
Another Liverpool great has cancer
Dalglish’s news comes days after another 75-year-old Liverpool great, Kevin Keegan, revealed he has stage four cancer.
Keegan’s family said in January he was diagnosed with cancer.
As a Liverpool forward in the 1970s, Keegan won the league three times, the UEFA Cup twice, the European Cup in 1977 and the FA Cup.
He also captained and coached England’s national team.
