The Manchester United great, according to a family statement, passed “peacefully in the early hours of Saturday morning”
His former club, United, described him, in their tribute, as “one of the greatest and most beloved players in the history of our club”.
While the the Premier League said Charlton is “one of the greatest players in English football history”
With his death, Sir Geoff Hurst – the striker who scored a hat-trick in England’s 4-2 win over West Germany in the 1966 final is now the only surviving member of the triumphant team.
Here are eight other things you don’t know about the late Sir Bobby Charlton.
1. He was born in Ashington, Northumberland on 11 October, 1937.
2. He joined Manchester United as a schoolboy in 1953, turning professional the next year and making his first-team debut against Charlton Athletic in October 1956, aged 18.
3. Charlton won 106 caps for England and scored 49 international goals – records for his country at the time.
4. In February 1958, he was a survivor of the Munich air crash in which 23 people died, including eight of his United team-mates.
5. During a 17-year first-team career with United he won three league titles, a European Cup and an FA Cup.
6. He was awarded the Ballon d’Or in 1966 after playing every minute of England’s World Cup victory.
7. At United, he became the club’s scoring and appearance records holder- netting 249 goals in 758 games before leaving United in May 1973. Both records have since been eclipsed by Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs respectively.
8. In November 2020, it was announced Charlton had been diagnosed with dementia.
