Manchester United and Scotland legend Denis Law has been made a CBE in the New Year Honours list.
Law, 75, played for United between 1962 and 1973, winning two league titles in 1965 and 1967 and the FA Cup in 1963 as one third of the club's "Holy Trinity" alongside Sir Bobby Charlton and the late George Best.
Law called his honour "a lovely surprise." When asked about life in the United side of the 1960s, he said: "We felt very fortunate to be playing football and to be getting paid.
"We didn't get a great deal of money, but of course when I saw George Best come to the club as a young boy at 15, 16, I just looked at him and thought: 'Oh, this is going to be something special.'
"It doesn't always turn out that way, but it did with him and it was just lovely to play alongside him and enjoy the game."
Law was named European Footballer of the Year in 1964 but injury forced him to miss the 1968 European Cup final, which United won by beating Benfica 4-1 at Wembley.
In a tribute posted on Manchester United's website, the club quote former manager Sir Alex Ferguson as saying: "Denis Law was my hero as a player. I idolised him.
"When I first met him, I was so excited. He epitomised everything a Scotsman is about. He was daring and courageous, he had that bravado about him and he had style. He was a truly fantastic footballer."
Law remains a firm favourite at Old Trafford -- there is a statue of him at the Stretford End of the stadium -- despite two spells with Manchester City either side of his 11-year stint with the Red Devils.
In his second spell at City, he famously scored a backheeled goal against United as they were relegated from the top flight at the end of the 1973-74 season.
It proved to be Law's final touch in league football as he asked to be substituted immediately afterwards and later admitted: "I have seldom felt so depressed as I did that weekend."
Law began his career at Huddersfield before joining City for a British record transfer fee in 1960. He moved to Italian side Torino in 1961 and was then enticed back to Manchester by United boss Sir Matt Busby after struggling to adapt to life in Serie A.
Well done to Denis Law, who'll become a CBE in the New Year's Honours! See him in action: https://t.co/fGkMH4RFDm pic.twitter.com/PKR98eXqcK
- Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 30, 2015
In addition to his success at club level, Law also won 55 senior caps for Scotland, scoring a joint-record 30 goals, and rounded off his career by representing Scotland at the 1974 World Cup in West Germany.
He scored 237 goals for United and is joint-second in the club's all-time scoring list behind his old teammate Charlton after Wayne Rooney equalled his tally in November.
Law has been in the news following a recent interview he gave about the current United side in which he was asked whether the team he played for in the 1960s would beat the 2015 version.
He said they would beat the current team 1-0, and when asked why they would only win by one he joked: "Because we're all in our 70s now."
Law's CBE award is also in recognition for his charity work. He has been a fundraiser for Cancer Research UK and is a patron for the Meningitis Now charity. He beat prostate cancer in 2003.
.@stephhoughton2, @fara_williams47 and FA director Heather Rabbatts given New Year Honours https://t.co/n3MiKmaAf7 pic.twitter.com/NXcEAtwAGz
- The FA (@FA) December 31, 2015
Elsewhere, former Manchester City forward and chairman Francis Lee also received a CBE, while City centre-back Steph Houghton -- who captained England to a third-place finish in this summer's Women's World Cup -- and her international teammate Fara Williams both received MBEs.
Football Association director Heather Rabbatts -- who became the FA's first female board member in 2012 -- has been made a dame for services to football and equality.