Seeing Alan Hansen stroll through Liverpool’s downtown with his wife Janet, pausing to strike up conversations with strangers who want to know how he’s feeling, is subtly amazing. The warmth of that typical afternoon says more about his relationship with this city than any trophy could, especially for a man who spent decades studying football from a television studio. And no one present during those tense weeks will quickly forget the weight of those conversations after the summer of 2024.
Liverpool Football Club confirmed in a June 2024 statement that their former captain was in the hospital with a serious illness. The news hit hard. Hansen, who is currently 70 years old, had been the kind of person who seemed to last forever. He was the sophisticated defender who won everything at Anfield, the authoritative voice on Match of the Day for 22 years, and the man whose ability to read a game never seemed to fade. It was truly hard to imagine him fighting for his life. His former teammate and sparring partner, Graeme Souness, was clearly moved when he told reporters that Hansen had sounded “fabulous” on a Sunday phone call and that all he had done was “take the mickey” out of him. It was the kind of update that can only be convincingly given by close friends.
The family verified his discharge by June 23, 2024. Although the complete details of what had transpired were kept extremely confidential, there was a noticeable sense of relief. It felt right that Hansen and his family maintained it that way. Even for someone who has spent decades in front of a camera, not everything has to be told in public. Since golf has been a constant in his life since he was a teenager and once chose the fairway over a contract at Hibernian, it was only natural for him to return to the game. The first pictures of him on a course brought a certain sense of relief.
Hansen didn’t properly discuss what had happened until October 2025, when a documentary about Kenny Dalglish was being shown at an Odeon theater in Liverpool. He told the Liverpool Echo as he stood there in the city he has lived in for almost fifty years: “It was touch and go and I recovered really quickly — I got the all clear about six months ago.” Thus, I’m doing great. It is difficult not to feel something when you read those words. A man like Hansen does not employ the phrase “touch and go” for dramatic effect.
There was a certain resonance to that evening. The documentary honored Dalglish, the teammate who went on to become his manager, the man who appointed Hansen captain of Liverpool, and the man who witnessed Hansen win both the FA Cup and the league in 1986. Hansen showed him warmth and generosity in a way that seemed spontaneous, the kind of homage that results from mutual experience rather than duty. He described those Liverpool teams as unique, then chuckled as he recalled telling Dalglish in 1985 that he was taking over the worst team the club had ever had. That season, they won the double.
When Liverpool won their 20th league championship in May 2025, Hansen returned to Anfield to give Virgil van Dijk the Premier League trophy. In 1990, he was, appropriately, the final captain of Liverpool to win a championship in front of the Anfield supporters. That continuity, with the man who shaped Liverpool’s potential at its core, has a poetic quality. That moment was flawless, whether it was prearranged or just felt right. Then, in the 2025 New Year’s Honours, the MBE was awarded for contributions to football and broadcasting that were, if anything, long overdue.
His illness’s precise nature has never been made public, and it is unlikely to be. It is evident that he is doing well, that he is playing golf, and that he is stopped by people who are genuinely happy to see him as he strolls through Liverpool. The simplest version of this story—that Alan Hansen faced a serious situation and overcame it—is also the most satisfying for someone who made a career out of speaking honestly and plainly.