An artist has said he was "starstruck" to meet Sir Kenny Dalglish when he visited Anfield to see a mural he had created of the former Liverpool FC player.
Anthony Donnelly was commissioned to do the three-storey mural on the side of the ARC Hotel on Anfield Road, Liverpool, along with a second mural of Sir Kenny on Gertrude Road opposite.
He said the project, which took 14 days, was "the opportunity of a lifetime" and "I listened to You'll Never Walk Alone quite a few times in the car on the way over".
He said Sir Kenny, who signed the artwork, described the murals as "tremendous", which he said was "awesome to hear".
After the visit earlier this week, Sir Kenny said on Instagram: "Very humbled that anyone would think I was deserving of a mural like this, especially so close to Anfield and in a city that has given me and my family so much over the years.
He joked: "Apologies to everyone living nearby who now has to look at my face every day. Hopefully it doesn't affect the house prices too much."
Liverpool fan Keith Pearson said it was an honour to meet Sir Kenny inside the ARC Hotel in Anfield [Don Taylor]Donnelly said he felt having the two murals at either side of the road made a fitting "gateway to Anfield" in honour of the former Liverpool FC player.
"He is really humble and a lovely man and had time for everybody," Donnelly added.
"It was truly an honour to to meet Kenny," he said.
The artist said he devised the vintage colour scheme for the mural so it was in keeping with the period of the properties nearby and "looks like it's always meant to be there".
An aerial shot of the two Sir Kenny Dalgleish murals created by artist Anthony Donnelly in Anfield [Kieron Donnelly/@urbancamerauk]Jade Lee, director of the ARC Hotel, which commissioned the mural, said Sir Kenny's visit came about after a staff member approached boxer Tony Bellew.
She said it was a collective decision by staff at the hotel to commission the mural as there were many amazing murals in the area "but not really any Kenny Dalglish ones".
She said Sir Kenny was "absolutely blown away" by the mural and he and boxer Tony Bellew were fantastic.
"We've got a care home just on the next block and all the ladies and gentlemen came out from there and he was getting pictures with them," she added.
"It was fantastic of him to come down and do it - we really appreciate it."
Jade Lee from the ARC Hotel says murals honouring Sir Kenny Dalglish were needed to add to the other "amazing" artworks in Anfield [BBC/Angela Ferguson]Lifelong Liverpool fan Sadiq Ali, who runs the newsagents shop next door to the hotel, said it was "amazing" to meet Sir Kenny.
"He was dead nice - he was a down to earth person," he added, saying "king Kenny deserves it for what he's done in his lifetime".
Ali said the murals were "a really good thing for the community", boosting footfall to the close-knit community as well.
Business owner Sadiq Ali pictured standing next to Sir Kenny's signature [BBC/Angela Ferguson]Liverpool fan Keith Pearson, who works over the road from the mural, said he enjoyed meeting 'King Kenny' and Tony Bellew and had his photo taken with them.
He said Sir Kenny stayed for about an hour and met with Liverpool fans from all over the world, "taking a lot of time out for people".
The Liverpool, Scotland and Celtic great revealed last year he was undergoing treatment for cancer.
Dalglish signed for Liverpool for a British record fee of £440,000 and spearheaded a golden era for the club, winning three European Cups and eight First Division titles across his 515 appearances.
He went on to be player-manager from 1985, leaving the club in 1991 before returning as manager for the 2011-2012 season.
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