Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has spoken candidly about his younger brother Martin’s battle withdementia, admitting that he thinks about him “all the time.”
Ferguson now supports Playlist for Life, a charity that uses music to help improve the lives of people living with dementia, News.Az reports, citing Manchester Evening News.
During an emotional interview on BBC Breakfast, the 83-year-old admitted that it was "not easy".
"He recognises me, you know, but the memory is not great and it's in the back of my mind all the time," he said.
The football legend also shared: "I wonder if he's in just now, whether I guess you give him a phone call and that.
"And I try to do that every day, you know, but sometimes, some days you don't because you're maybe busy or something like that."
When asked if his brother's condition was constantly on his mind, he responded: "It is, yeah, you know, because I'm his brother and I'm saying to myself, I'm only a year ahead of him, you know?"
He added: "I think people who get to my age have little worries about, you know, and how their memory is going to stand up. Well, I'm 84 in December. There are moments when I forget things."
Sir Alex went on: "I probably did that 20 years ago or 30 years ago when I was a manager going through previous games, which is really important in terms of preparation for a football match."
He emphasised the importance of memory in his life, stating: "So I work, I do a lot of crosswords. I read a lot and sing a lot. Since I retired, I've done a lot of travelling, which I've enjoyed."
Sir Alex revealed that he has been travelling since the passing of his wife Cathy in 2023.
He shared: "I think after my wife passed, I think I was stuck in the house a lot, you know. And I moved house out of the country, next door to my son. And then it's not good enough, just sitting there watching TV.
"And so I decided to travel and I went to Saudi and to Hong Kong and Berlin."
His advice for others experiencing similar circumstances, he said, was to "occupy yourself".
News.Az
