Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville says Denis Law will be sadly missed in a touching tribute to the Old Trafford icon, who passed away aged 84.

The former Scotland international was a club-record signing in 1962, scoring 237 goals in 404 appearances for United and is immortalised with two statues at Old Trafford outside the stadium and inside the Stretford End.

United host Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday afternoon (2pm), while there will be a minute's applause in tribute for the club legend. Neville became the latest ex-United player to pay tribute to Law while speaking to Sky Sports.

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"[He meant] An awful lot, an extremely sad day, one of the greatest players Manchester United have ever had, a true legend - that word is sometimes used too often but not in this case," the 49-year-old said.

"An incredible player, and I knew he was Sir Alex Ferguson's favourite player, when you speak to people of that generation - I never saw Denis play live - they always name Denis Law as their favourite player.

"I spent some time with him, which was a great privilege, great gentleman, great humour and wit, but [he was] humble. He carried no arrogance or confidence about his football career at all and he was a brilliant person to be with, he will be sadly missed, and Manchester United fans all over the world will be paying tribute for a long, long time."

Neville added: "It was my dad and my grandad [who talked about Law], going to Manchester United from the age of five and talking about Best, Law and Charlton, the most famous players ever to play. They're mythical characters, they're characters that you don't feel like you'll meet as a Manchester United fan.

"Denis was absolutely brilliant company, but humble in his greatness is the best compliment I can pay to him.

"Great humour, great story-teller, someone I think would give great advice and done good outside of the game. I was asked at the end of last year to go to Scotland for the Denis Law Legacy Trust - he's done incredible work up there and has done for a long, long time.

"The amount of time in raising his voice for Alzheimer's and Prostate Cancer. He was brave on the pitch - people told me you didn't mess with him - but also brave off the pitch. He'll be very sadly missed."