Kenny Dalglish has cancer: Liverpool legend, 75, confirms he is undergoing treatment after inadvertently revealing diagnosis in a social media slip-up
Sir Kenny Dalglish has confirmed he is undergoing treatment after being diagnosed with cancer.
The 75-year-old Liverpool legend accidentally revealed his situation in a now-deleted social media post.
It is unclear how Dalglish accidentally revealed this unfortunate news. There were allegations that he accidentally posted a photo of a hospital appointment letter and quickly removed it, but the Daily Mail did not see it.
He later issued the following statement: ‘As my unintentional post on social media indicated, I am currently undergoing treatment for cancer. His treatment is going well, unlike my cell phone use.
‘Ideally this would have remained secret because it should have been, but my useless tech skills put a strain on me.
‘Obviously I did not want to make this matter public, so I would appreciate it if my and my family’s privacy could be respected.
Sir Kenny Dalglish confirms he is receiving treatment for his cancer diagnosis (pictured with his daughter and broadcaster Kelly Cates)
Dalglish photographed with his wife Marina at the 2023 Sports Personality of the Year awards
Dalglish was an outstanding actor; He won 34 competitions as well as 14 as a manager.
‘As always, thank you to the wonderful medical staff who showed incredible care and discretion not just for me but for so many others. They are a credit to themselves.’
Dalglish has been married to his wife Marina since 1974 and they have four children, including Match of the Day presenter Kelly Cates.
Marina suffered from breast cancer in 2003 and in 2005 she set up a charity called the Marina Dalglish Appeal.
It’s been a sad few days for Liverpool. On Sunday night, former player Kevin Keegan announced that his stomach cancer had reached stage four.
Dalglish is widely honored as one of the greatest names in Liverpool, Celtic and Scotland.
The prolific striker won four league titles with Celtic, followed by six on Merseyside, as well as three European Cups in the 1970s and 1980s.
He went on to manage the Reds and lead them to three more league titles, then led Blackburn to their only Premier League title and managed Newcastle, Celtic and finally Liverpool again.
His journey to management came with tragic circumstances. Following the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985, Liverpool manager Joe Fagan resigned.
Dalglish was last photographed celebrating Mohamed Salah’s career at Liverpool in May.
King Kenny was knighted at Buckingham Palace in 2018 for his services to football, his contributions to charity and his work for the city of Liverpool.
Aged just 34, Dalglish was appointed as the club’s first player-manager and led them to a memorable league cup in 1985-86, even scoring the decisive goal against Chelsea to secure the title.
The King of Kop was a natural at administration. Liverpool were relentless under his tutelage, winning trophy after trophy. He also oversaw one of the darkest days in the club’s history, the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy in which 97 fans died.
In total, he won 35 competitions as a player and 14 as a coach; it was a trophy cabinet that most footballers, and indeed clubs, could only dream of.
Liverpool said in a statement: ‘The support, best wishes and love of everyone at Liverpool FC are and will continue to be with Sir Kenny and his family.’
His last role in football management was at Liverpool between January 2011 and May 2012.
He arrived to temporarily steer the ship following the sacking of Roy Hodgson and in his second season back, led the Reds to victory against Cardiff in the 2012 League Cup final, securing the club’s first trophy after a six-year drought.
He took on a consultancy role for the club in 2013.
Dalglish was last photographed in public at Anfield in May to reward Mohamed Salah with a special frame after his final game for the club.
Dalglish scored 375 goals for club and country during his long football career
This is not the only health problem in recent years. Simge was hospitalized for Covid-19 in 2020, but showed no symptoms and was discharged soon after.
There was praise for Dalglish on social media.
His former club Blackburn, with whom he won the title in 194-95 with a team that included Alan Shearer, wrote about X: ‘We send all our love and support to Sir Kenny Dalglish, who has confirmed he is undergoing treatment for cancer.’
Newcastle also wrote: ‘Everyone at Newcastle United sends their love and best wishes to Sir Kenny Dalglish and his family following his cancer diagnosis.’ He took them to the 1998 FA Cup final, where they lost to Arsenal.
More to follow.
