Sir Alex Ferguson: I'm 82, I worry about dementia

Sir Alex Ferguson with his friend, Scotland and Manchester United legend Denis Law, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2021

Sir Alex Ferguson is 11 years retired from one of the most notable, high-pressure footballing careers in history.

Now, he knows he's in trouble if he doesn't get at least 70% when he tests his general knowledge in a YouTube quiz.

It's one of the ways the former Manchester United manager keeps his mind active, along with reading and listening to music.

Having seen a number of his close friends and colleagues suffer from dementia, Sir Alex admits the degenerative brain disease has started to frighten him.

Sir Alex Ferguson with the FA Cup and Premiership Trophy at Victoria Station, Manchester, on 12 May, 1996

"I'm 82, obviously I worry about it," he told BBC Breakfast. "Generally my memory is quite good - pray the lord, touch wood it’ll stay that way."

Sir Alex spoke to the BBC about the condition on National Playlist Day - an initiative started by the charity Playlist for Life, founded by BBC Scotland presenter Sally Magnusson.

The idea behind the campaign is to encourage people to create a playlist of music that reminds people of special moments in their lives.

Research has recognised the powerful impact music can have on those living with dementia, in terms of helping them connect with their past.

Top of Sir Alex's playlist is Moon River, composed by Henry Mancini and originally performed by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Lyricist Johnny Mercer layered the famously nostalgic song with memories of his own childhood - so it's perhaps no surprise it takes Sir Alex back to his days playing football at Harmony Row boys' club in Govan.

He met some of his fellow players at nursery and they remain friends to this day. Occasionally, Sir Alex will treat them to a rendition of Moon River when they visit him.

"There was one time, I’m singing away at it - I’m in another world, my eyes are closed, I’m belting out," he recalls fondly. "But they don't listen to me."

His singing ability, he concedes, perhaps don't live up to his talents on the pitch.

'She was leader of the band'

Cathy, Sir Alex and their sons

Also on his playlist is the theme from the 1939 film Gone with the Wind - My Own True Love, sung by Margaret Whiting.

It reminds him of his late wife Cathy, who he met in 1964 while they were both working at a typewriter factory.

Sir Alex said: "When I went to see Gone with the Wind I would be only 21, 22. We were courting at the time.

"She was a great wife, fantastic mother, a great grandmother. She was the leader of the band, no doubt about that."

Of their 57 years together, Sir Alex managed United for 27 - and Cathy is said to have played a key role in persuading him not to retire in 2002.

Writing in his autobiography, he said she had told him: "One, your health is good. Two, I'm not having you in the house. And three, you're too young anyway."

Football clubs across the country paid tribute to her when she died last year.

Sir Bobby Charlton attended the unveiling of a stand renamed in his honour ahead a match between Manchester United and Everton in 2016

It was also last year that Sir Alex attended the funeral of England and United legend Bobby Charlton - who he describes as his "great friend".

In 2021, another friend from Old Trafford was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and vascular dementia - fellow Scot Denis Law.

Former England and United player Nobby Stiles, who worked as a coach under Sir Alex, had died from dementia the year before.

"It's a present-day challenge for all of us," said Sir Alex. "I think we [all] know someone close to us who has got dementia."

"I think the main bearing on this is their family - we're outside the door of it all.

"They've great wives, fantastic wives - and they've had to put up with all the burden of it."