Real Madrid great Alfredo Di Stefano has been admitted to hospital in Sagunto near Valencia after suffering a heart attack on Friday night.
"Doctors have managed to stabilise the legendary player's condition and it is expected that he will be admitted to the intensive care unit in the next few hours," the club said on Saturday.
The 79-year-old Argentine, Real Madrid's honorary president and record goal scorer, led the Spanish club to five consecutive European Cups between 1956 and 1960 and eight Spanish league titles.
An immensely versatile player, who could play in midfield or up front, Di Stefano began his career at River Plate in 1945, but joined Colombian club Millonarios four years later following a players' strike in Argentina.
He went on to score an incredible 267 goals in 292 games, helping Millonarios to four league titles.
He caught the eye of Real Madrid after playing in an exhibition match in the Spanish capital to mark the club's 50th anniversary in 1953 and signed for them after a tug-of-war with arch-rivals Barcelona.
He led Real to the 1953-54 championship, which was only the club's third league title in their history, and together with winger Paco Gento he revolutionised a team that went on to dominate European football in the late 1950s.