Born in 1937, the former Manchester United playmaker notably led the England team to its only world title in 1966.
A legend of English football has passed away. Bobby Charlton, former Manchester United player between 1956 and 1973, died, his family announced on Saturday October 21. “It is with great sadness that we share the news of Sir Bobby’s peaceful passing in the early hours of Saturday morning. He was surrounded by his family.”clarified those around him.
Knighted by the Queen of England in 1994, the Briton, considered one of the best players in the history of his country, notably won three English championship titles with the Red Devils (1957, 1965 and 1967) , as well as the only world title for the English selection in 1966, obtaining the Ballon d’Or that year, without forgetting the Champion Clubs’ Cup in 1968.
In a press release, Manchester United, where he was trained before spending 17 years there (1956-1973), expressed its sadness.“Sir Bobby was a hero to millions of people, not just in Manchester or the UK, but wherever football is played in the world. His unparalleled record of achievement, character and service will forever be etched in the history of Manchester United and English football.”wrote the club.
Born in Ashington, a working-class town in the north-east of England on October 11, 1937, Bobby Charlton joined United at the age of 15. During his career, he was the one who put the Manchester United club back on the map of English football, taking them to the first European Cup for an English team in 1968. Author of 249 goals in 758 matches with the Red Devils, he managed to lead them to every possible title in the United Kingdom, with a European Cup, three league titles and the FA Cup. A stand was named after him to pay tribute to him at Old Trafford.
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But it is in selection that he will obtain his letters of nobility. A 20-year-old survivor of the Munich air crash, which killed eight of his Manchester United teammates in 1958, he managed to overcome this terrible ordeal, not without difficulty. “All the time, the question kept coming back: ‘Why me, why did I survive?’”he would later ask himself in his autobiography.
In 1966, he achieved the greatest feat of his career: winning the World Cup with England, the only one in the history of the Perfidious Albion, alongside goalkeeper Gordon Banks, defender and captain Bobby Moore and striker Jimmy Greaves. A collective award which offered him the most prestigious individual award that year: the Ballon d’Or, which only three other Englishmen have obtained (Stanley Matthews in 1956, Kevin Keegan in 1978 and 1979, and Michael Owen in 2001).
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Renowned for his formidable strikes, Bobby Charlton had also become the symbol of elegance and sportsmanship. “There has never been a more popular footballer. He was as close to perfection as a man and a player as it is possible to be.”, declared former United boss Matt Busby, the man who earned this young golden generation the nickname Busby babes. “He was admired as much for his sportsmanship and integrity as for his exceptional qualities as a footballer. Sir Bobby will always be remembered as a giant of the game”, completes his lifelong club. Ennobled for the first time in 1974, by being elevated to the rank of Commander of the Order of the British Empire, he did not yet have the right to use the rank of “Sir” before his first name. It was finally in 1994 that Queen Elizabeth II granted him this title.
Bobby Charlton retired in 1976 after short spells at Preston North End and Waterford, before becoming manager and then board member of Manchester United. Suffering from dementia in 2020, he died surrounded by his family, who said in a statement they wanted “express thanks to all those who contributed to his care and to the many people who loved and supported him”.
“The greatest English player in history”
Following the announcement of his death, several big names in English football paid tribute to him, starting with Gary Neville, another Manchester United legend, who spoke about “English football’s greatest player and Manchester United’s greatest ambassador. A champion on and off the pitch and a Busby Babe who paved the way for all to come to United.”
Gary Lineker, one of the best English strikers in history, praised “A World Cup winner, a Manchester United great and, for me, the greatest English player in history. He may no longer be with us but he will have footballing immortality. RIP Sir Bobby .”