Mcdermott thanks fans around world for support after dementia diagnosis
TERRY MCDERMOTT has offered an emotional message of thanks to football fans across the world for their support after news of his dementia diagnosis.
The Liverpool legend, who was the Footballer of the Year in 1980 and top scorer in the European Cup in 1981, revealed his condition at the weekend.
In a statement issued on his former club’s website, Mcdermott explained he is in the early stages of Lewy Body Dementia, and vowed to fight.
That prompted an outpouring of support from fans across the football spectrum, and Mcdermott replied with an emotional thank you. “Many thanks to everyone for the messages of support, I’m touched and overwhelmed by them all,” he said in a message on social media soon after his diagnosis had been made public.
“Each one is appreciated and will help me in the fight against it. Special thank you to LFC for standing with me through this.”
Mcdermott took the step of addressing his condition in a statement released in conjunction with Liverpool. The midfielder is regarded as one of the true Anfield greats.
He won four league titles and three European Cups with the Reds (above), though a retrospective change of rules by the EFL this summer allows him to claim a fifth title medal for 1975-76, when he made nine appearances.
In all, Mcdermott, 69, won 15 trophies for his home-town club. And he was forthright when he said he would continue to show the fight he had called on throughout his playing career.
“I’m not frightened of taking it on – there are a lot of former players in a worse state than me,” he said. “I’ve got to get on with it and I will.
“It’s the way I’ve been brought up. Nothing has come easy. Battling is second nature.”
Mcdermott’s diagnosis has come shortly after the news that Scotland and Manchester United legend Denis Law has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia.