Sir Alex Ferguson believes Denis Law transformed Manchester United as the former Old Trafford boss paid tribute to the legendary striker.

Law, the only Scottish player to win the Ballon d'Or, died on Friday at the age of 84. Law spent 11 years at United, scoring 237 goals in 404 games.

Alongside Bobby Charlton and George Best, he led the United rebuild after the Munich air disaster as Sir Matt Busby's side became the first English team to win the European Cup when triumphing in 1968.

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"I think he turned the club around and that’s the greatest thing you could say," said Ferguson, speaking to MUTV. "They were recovering from the Munich air disaster, they won the first trophy in 1963 just after they signed Denis.

"His part at that time was so vital to the renovation of the team and most people will always remember that. That signing from Italy was a cornerstone of their future success."

Law arrived at Old Trafford from Torino and also had two spells with Manchester City. But it was with United where he spent the bulk of his career and became a club legend. Ferguson paid tribute to the player and the person.

"He was a real gentleman. He didn’t use his fame, he was so level headed, down to earth," recalled Ferguson. "He’s got all these caps for Scotland, the king of Old Trafford. It’s an interesting thing, why did they call him the king? You’ve got George Best, Bobby Charlton - the greatest English player of all time and a fantastic player for our club - but they called Denis the king.

"And I think that’s something to do with the determination and the will to win that he showed every time he went on that football field. And that’s what he was, he was a really competitive human being. No matter what game that was always there, fighting against centre halves, the goalkeeper drops the ball and he was right on top of him, he was such a competitive human being. I think it was a natural thing for the supporters to associate him as their king.

"He was the best Scottish player of all time, Denis was a fantastic player. He was an incredible human being."