‘England’s greatest ever’: Tributes flow as legends mourn death of football icon Bobby Charlton
England World Cup winner and Manchester United great Bobby Charlton, described by the club as a “giant of the game”, has died at the age of 86, it was announced on Sunday morning.
Charlton passed away after a battle with dementia just a week after celebrating his birthday.
Charlton was a key member of England’s victorious 1966 World Cup team and also enjoyed great success at club level with United, who became the first English club to win the European Cup in 1968, a decade after members of the team were killed in an air crash in Munich.
England World Cup winner Geoff Hurst and former Manchester United star David Beckham led the tributes after the news broke.
Hurst, who scored a hat-trick in the 1966 final for England against West Germany with Charlton in the team, described him as “a great colleague and friend”.
“Very sad news today, (one) of the true Greats Sir Bobby Charlton has passed away,” Hurst wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“We will never forget him & nor will all of football.
“A great colleague & friend he will be sorely missed by all of the country beyond sport alone.” Beckham said Charlton had a huge influence on his career — and his Manchester United-loving father had named him after him.
“It all began with Sir Bobby. Sir Bobby was the reason I had the opportunity to play for Manchester United,” Beckham posted on Instagram.
“I will be forever grateful to a man I was named after, someone I looked up to and was a hero to many around the world not just in Manchester and our country where he won the World Cup in 1966.
“A true gentleman, family man and truly a national hero... Today isn’t just a sad day for Manchester United & England it’s a sad day for football and everything that Sir Bobby represented.”
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