Sir Bobby Charlton, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest footballers of all time and the most famous footballer England has ever produced, has died aged 86.
Manchester United posted a photo of the team’s great legend with the message: “Sir Bobby Charlton CBE, 1937-2023. Words will never be enough.”
Man Utd legend passed away.
A World Cup champion with England in 1966, Charlton spent almost his entire playing career with Manchester United. Here, he won titles including 3 national championships and a European Cup.
Charlton continued to act as Director at Old Trafford and was knighted in June 1994. A survivor of the Munich air disaster, which claimed the lives of eight teammates in 1958, he made 758 appearances for Man United. a record that stood until it was broken by Ryan Giggs.
Charlton scored 249 goals for Man Utd, a record later surpassed by Wayne Rooney, and is England’s all-time top scorer, with 49 goals, another record beaten by Rooney in September 2015. . When he retired from international football in 1970, Charlton had 106 caps for England.
Along with his brother, Jack, who passed away in July 2020, Charlton played an important role in England’s victory at the 1966 World Cup. Only 28 years old at the time, Charlton started all 6 matches of that year’s tournament and scored 3 goals, including 2 goals in the victory over Portugal in the semi-finals.
Charlton is a great legend in Man United history.
Charlton, born in Ashington, Northumberland, joined Man United as a youth apprentice in 1953 and made his first-team debut three years later. But it was not until the first half of 1957 that he was able to play regularly.
Notably, he scored two goals in a 3-3 draw against Red Star Belgrade in February 1958 when Man United was on their way back home when disaster occurred in Munich. Charlton, then 20 years old, suffered only minor injuries. He quickly returned to play within a month.
Charlton and Man Utd won the National Championship title in 1957, 1965 and 1967, along with an FA Cup in 1963. The outstanding achievement at club level in his career was in 1968 when he helped Man United win the European Cup. . In the final, he scored in a 4-1 victory over Benfica.
After leaving Man United in May 1973, Charlton played for Preston North End and had time to play for Waterford United in Ireland. In 1984, Man United appointed him as Director. In February 2016, Man Utd inaugurated the South Stand after him.
In 2020, Charlton’s wife, Lady Norma Charlton, announced that he had been diagnosed with dementia. He just celebrated his 86th birthday 10 days ago, on October 11.
Tieu Lam | 21:39 October 21, 2023
