England football legend Sir Bobby Charlton has passed away

Manchester United is mourning one of its biggest icons. This Saturday afternoon, around four hours before kick-off against Sheffield United, the club in the north of England announced the death of Bobby Charlton. The former attacking midfielder died of natural causes at the age of 86. A World Cup winner in 1966 and Ballon d'Or winner the same year, he made an indelible mark on the history of the Red Devils. But not only.

Born in Ashington, a suburb of Newcastle, Charlton spent his entire life in Manchester Jersey. Promoted to the first team by United's iconic coach Matt Busby in the mid-1950s, he showed off his great finesse and his powerful goal, reaching a height of 1.73m. Able to play as an attacking midfielder, winger or striker, he made 758 appearances for the Red Devils from 1956 to 1973, scoring 249 goals.

But Sir Bobby Charlton – who was knighted in 1974 – left a mark on Manchester United history that went beyond these statistics. He was one of the survivors of the Munich tragedy, which took the lives of 21 people, including seven club players, in a plane crash on 6 February 1958 (an eighth died two weeks later). Rebuilding was necessary, and the Englishman was one of the centerpieces of the Manchurian revival. Together with great talents such as Denis Law or George Best, he took an active part in the titles won in the Championship (1965, 1967), FA Cup (1963) and, above all, the European Champion Clubs' Cup (1968).

Indispensable at club level, Charlton was also instrumental in the English selection. In 1966, the Three Lions were crowned world champions on home soil, a tournament in which their number 9 found the net four times. At the end of the same year, he won the Ballon d'Or ahead of Portuguese Eusebio and West German Franz Beckenbauer.

With 49 goals in 106 caps, Charlton held the record for the longest time before being beaten by Wayne Rooney (53 goals) and Harry Kane (61). After hanging up his boots, he had a short coaching career and then a 39-year stint as sporting and technical director at Manchester United. “He was admired as much for his sportsmanship and integrity as for his incredible qualities as a footballer.His former club said in a press release. Sir Bobby will always be remembered as a great of the game.”