Ron Yeats: Liverpool legend dies aged 86 after battle with Alzheimer's disease

Ron Yeats, the Liverpool legend and former long-serving captain, has died at the age of 86.

Yeats’ passing was announced by the club on Saturday morning, with the Scottish former defender confirmed in January to have been living with Alzheimer's disease over recent years.

A Reds statement read: “Liverpool FC is mourning the passing of legendary former captain Ron Yeats.

“In the words of Bill Shankly, a ‘colossus’ in club history, the Scot died on Friday night at the age of 86, having sadly suffered with Alzheimer’s in recent years.

“The thoughts of everyone at LFC are with Ron’s wife, Ann, all of his family and his friends at this incredibly sad time.

“Flags across club sites will be lowered to half-mast today as a mark of respect.”

Yeats joined Liverpool from Dundee United in 1961 and made 454 total appearances for the club over the next decade as captain, scoring 16 goals and becoming the first Reds skipper ever to lift the FA Cup with an extra-time win over Leeds at the old Wembley Stadium in 1965.

He was an integral part of the team that enjoyed such success under iconic manager Bill Shankly in the 1960s, captaining them to two First Division titles in 1963-64 and 1965-66 after winning the Second Division in 1961-62. He also lifted the Charity Shield in three successive years in 1964, 1965 and 1966.

Yeats - who earned two senior international caps for Scotland during his playing career - served as player-manager at Tranmere for three years after leaving Liverpool in 1971 and also spent time at Stalybridge Celtic, Barrow, Formby and Rhyl after brief stints in the United States with the Los Angeles Skyhawks and Santa Barbara Condors of the American Soccer League.

He returned to Liverpool in 1986, spending 20 years as the club’s chief scout before retiring from football in 2006.