Liverpool legend and former Match of the Day pundit Alan Hansen seriously ill in hospital

The Liverpool legend and former Match of the Day pundit Alan Hansen is seriously ill in hospital, his former club has announced. The Scotsman, aged 69, is in hospital in a serious condition.

He won eight league titles and three European Cups during a glittering career at Anfield. After hanging up his boots he became a TV pundit.

During his punditry career he became well known for saying that Manchester United ‘wouldn’t win anything with kids’ after Sir Alex Ferguson introduced the ‘Class of 92’ into his team. Hansen spent 14 years at Anfield and was part of Liverpool's all-conquering team in the 1970s and 1980s, the Mirror reports.

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In total, the Scotland international lifted 23 trophies during a glittering career at Liverpool, where he remains one of the club’s greatest ever players. Hansen’s brilliant ability on the ball, led many to reason he could have thrived in the modern game.

In a statement, Liverpool said: "The thoughts and support of everyone at Liverpool FC are with our legendary former captain Alan Hansen, who is currently seriously ill in hospital.

"A defender of the utmost elegance, Hansen’s outstanding raft of honours across a 14-year spell with the Reds – he joined from Partick Thistle in 1977 – included eight league titles, three European Cups, two FA Cups and three League Cups.

"‘Jocky’, as he was known by teammates, is in the top 10 for all-time appearances for the club having played 620 matches, and the Scottish centre-back also served as Liverpool skipper for four seasons.

"The club is currently in contact with Alan’s family to provide our support at this difficult time, and our thoughts, wishes and hopes are with Alan and all of the Hansen family.

"We will provide any further updates as we receive them in due course, and we request that the Hansen family’s privacy is respected at this time."

After retiring in 1991, Hansen became one of the most well-known faces in football media, spending 22 years as BBC ’s main pundit and was credited with helping to change the way football was analysed. He became a broadcasting legend as part of Match of the Day team, as well as appearing on the station’s coverage of World Cups, European Championships and Olympic games.

Hansen delivered one of the most infamous lines in British football history, after declaring Manchester United ‘wouldn’t win anything with kids’ after Sir Alex Ferguson introduced the ‘Class of 92’ into his team in 1995.

Hansen retired from our screens and moved away from the limelight at the end of the 2013/14 campaign.

At the time he said: "The guys at the BBC know me and I said, ‘Look, this is categorical. I’m leaving and nothing will make me change my mind’. I am contracted to do the World Cup and I will do that as it will be a good way to go out, but I have had a great run.

"’I've been in football for 41 years and I’m going out right at the top, just as I did at Liverpool," he added.

Match of the Day host Gary Lineker, subsequently revealed that ‘crippling nerves’ played a part in the legendary defender ending his punditry career.

“He was incredibly nervous, which is why he quit,” he said last year. "He got so nervous. He used to shuffle his feet on the floor."

Lineker added: "He was probably the first person that went down the more analytic route, a path now followed by so many. He was a brilliant pundit."