![\"Andy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0_Screenshot-2025-12-30-135916.jpg\")
Manchester United icon Andy Cole has made a new health admission(Image: In The Mixer)<\/p>\nManchester United legend Andy Cole has opened up about his kidney failure diagnosis and subsequent transplant, a health battle that continues to impact himManchester United icon Andy Cole has made a new health admission(Image: In The Mixer)<\/p>\n
Manchester United icon Andy Cole<\/a> has candidly spoken about his ongoing struggle with kidney issues. The ex-England forward, who was struck down by illness in 2015 and underwent a kidney transplant two years later, joined the Red Devils in 1995 after a stellar 34-goal season for Newcastle<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cole quickly made his mark at Old Trafford, forming a lethal partnership with Dwight Yorke<\/a> that powered United to their historic 1999 treble. That year, Cole netted 24 times across all competitions<\/a>, while Yorke bagged 29.<\/p>\n The 54-year-old hung up his boots in 2008, but post-retirement life has been marred by health troubles. A decade ago, he suffered kidney failure after picking up an unidentified virus<\/a> during a trip to Vietnam.<\/p>\n His condition deteriorated to such an extent that he required a kidney transplant in 2017<\/a>. Fortunately, his nephew was a match and the operation was successful. Despite this, Cole continues to grapple with his health issue and has now offered a heartfelt glimpse into how it impacts him.<\/p>\n “It was just a really mentally testing time,” said Cole, speaking on In The Mixer<\/a>, brought to you by Sky Bet. “You’ve been fit the majority of your life and then all of a sudden you find yourself in a situation where you’re like, ‘How do I actually go about this one?’<\/p>\n READ MORE: Ex-Premier League referee makes VAR admission that speaks volumes after latest controversy<\/a>READ MORE: Nine Premier League January transfers that could happen including Man Utd and Liverpool deals<\/a><\/p>\n You can listen to brand new episodes of In The Mixer on Spotify<\/a> and Apple Podcasts<\/a>!<\/p>\n “I think when I first went down, the first thing I was thinking was I’d just attack it exactly like I used to do when I was playing football: ‘Just get on with it. Man up.’ Then I realised it was going to take a little more than that.<\/p>\n “I think it has been the most challenging thing I’ve had to go through. Because everything’s self-doubt. You’re not sure how things are gonna work out for you.<\/p>\n “It’s all self-doubt with this illness because it’s a fatigue illness and you forever question yourself. ‘Will I be able to do this? Will I be able to do that?’<\/p>\n “I had around two years of questioning myself. Then in that time, I felt ill a few more times and I’ve actually turned around and said to myself, ‘Sod it. Get on with it.’<\/p>\n “I was backed so much by a lot of my former team-mates saying, ‘Come on. We know what you’re like. We know mentally you’re strong.’ You’ve got to realise you can’t be stubborn anymore.<\/p>\n “I mean, what will be will be, you know? Just live your life, enjoy what you’ve got left. That’s the way I try and view things now. Ultimately, with the illness every now and then it’s gonna be a struggle. Just gotta ride it out.<\/p>\n ANDY COLE EPISODE ON YOUTUBE<\/a>: Subscribe now to be the first to watch the latest episodes of In The Mixer and other original shows, brought to you by Sky Bet. Watch All Out Football’s episode with Andy Cole here<\/a>.<\/p>\n “I look at things totally different now. I mean, we’ve got to enjoy every day for what it is. As I say to everyone now, ‘Tomorrow’s not a given, so just enjoy today for what is.’<\/p>\n “If I wake up tomorrow and, as I call it, it’s a kidney day, you get on with it. You ride the day out. Tomorrow is a new day. I’ve got no time for nonsense anymore.”<\/p>\n Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community<\/a> and receive your daily dose of Manchester United<\/a> content from Mirror Football. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Manchester United legend Andy Cole has opened up about his kidney failure diagnosis and subsequent transplant, a health…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":379652,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[135118,49,48,145209,5692,87638,574,561,82],"class_list":["post-379651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-andy-cole","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-dwight-yorke","tag-manchester-united-fc","tag-organ-donation","tag-premier-league","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379651\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Andy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0_Manchester-United-v-Newcastle-United-FA-Cup-Final-Wembley-Stadium-2251999.jpg\")
Cole and Yorke’s partnership helped United to the treble(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Andy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0_GettyImages-2934653.jpg\")
The former England ace won five league titles at Old Trafford(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n