MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Past and present Manchester United players turned out to pay their respects to United and Scotland striker Denis Law who died last month at the age of 84 and was laid to rest on Tuesday.
United captain Bruno Fernandes, centre back Harry Maguire, and manager Ruben Amorim joined former manager Alex Ferguson and ex-players including Ruud van Nistelrooy, Gary Neville and Peter Schmeichel for the service at Manchester Cathedral for the player known as "The King".
"What a man. What a player first and foremost for this city. But what a person, what a human being he was," Schmeichel, United's goalkeeper from 1991-99, told Sky.
"I was fortunate to work quite a lot with him, and he was just a fantastic man. He was one of those players who drew my attention to Manchester United, so I grew up with him as an icon and the other two (George Best and Bobby Charlton) as well."
Law had been the last living member of United's "Holy Trinity" that included Best and Charlton and is immortalised in the Trinity Statue outside Old Trafford.
The funeral procession travelled down Sir Matt Busby Way and paused at the statue to warm applause from hundreds of fans. United academy players and coaching staff formed a guard of honour and placed a wreath at the statue.
Law's coffin was carried into the cathedral to a piper playing "Flower of Scotland".
Law began his career at Huddersfield Town and made his name at United where he spent 11 years, winning the league title in 1965 and 1967 and helping them to victory in the 1968 European Cup.
He scored 237 goals in 404 appearances for United and is the third top scorer in the club's history behind Wayne Rooney (253) and Charlton (249).
Law became the only Scotsman to win the Ballon d'Or and the European Player of the Year award, claiming both honours in 1964.
"His humility and empathy toward people was superb," Brian Kidd, a United forward from 1967-74, told Sky. "You would never believe he was such a superstar, so down to earth, just such a lovely, lovely person."
Best died in 2005 and Charlton in 2023.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing, editing by Ed Osmond)
