Gordon Strachan pays tribute to Alan Hansen, 69, with his close friend and former team-mate seriously ill in hospital… as he brands the Liverpool legend ‘one of the best players Scotland has ever seen’

One of Hansen’s former sides, Liverpool, took to their social media channels to announce the news on Sunday afternoon, sending their best wishes to the former defender and his family.

They also confirmed they are in direct contact with the Hansen family, and asked for the respect of his privacy.

Tributes have poured in for the 69-year-old, who played alongside Strachan for Scotland and the pair have remained good friends for a number of years since.

Former midfielder Strachan was speaking on Thursday as he led the well wishes to his fellow Scot, and added that he too is thinking of him and wishing him his best in his recovery.

Gordon Strachan has paid tribute to his friend and former team-mate Alan Hansen, who is seriously ill in hospital

Liverpool, a former side of Hansen (right), revealed the news online on Sunday afternoon

Strachan (fifth left) and Hansen (second right) played together for Scotland and have remained good friends since

‘He’s been a good golfing team-mate as well,’ Strachan said. ‘To be fair I used to play with [Kenny’] Dalglish and him and used to get beat at that as well.

‘Beat at football, beat at golf, I’m used to getting beat at golf with him. One of the world’s most laid back men and one of the best players Scotland has ever seen.

‘We’re thinking about him at the moment. He’s one of these guys where you think, he can’t get ill, he’s always in good nick, he was looking well, chilled.

‘All we can do is think about him. He’s in our thoughts, all the Strachans are thinking about him.’

Liverpool sent a heartwarming birthday message to Hansen on the day he turned 69, which was on Thursday.

His former club wrote on X (formerly Twitter): ‘We’re all thinking of Alan and his family on his 69th birthday,’ accompanied by a heart emoji.

The Scot played for the Reds between 1977 and 1991, making 620 appearances for the club after arriving from Partick Thistle. He retired in March 1991 and moved into broadcasting.

Hansen became one of the most popular broadcasters in the country, most notably for his work on Match of the Day.

He also became a newspaper columnist, and coined the phrase ‘you can’t win anything with kids’ after assessing Manchester United’s 3-1 defeat by Aston Villa in 1995.

His final stint with the BBC was during the 2014 World Cup, with his contract expiring after the tournament.

Strachan branded Hansen, who played with the former midfielder for their country, ‘one of the best players Scotland has ever seen’

Scotland assistant manager John Carver paid tribute to the former defender on the eve of the start of their Euro 2024 campaign

The Scottish FA, meanwhile, extended their heartfelt wishes to national team icon Hansen prior to their first match at Euro 2024.

Steve Clarke’s side will kick off the tournament on Friday night against home nations Germany, but will do so with Hansen firmly in their minds.

Assistant manager John Carver said in the build-up to the game: ‘I would just like to pass a message on to say that everybody, the players, the staff, everybody connected with the SFA, are really thinking about himself [Hansen] and his family because it is an extremely difficult time.

‘The biggest thing that I noticed was that he was a fantastic defender but he was a ball-playing centre-half. He was probably one of the first that I can remember seeing play.’