Football greats pay their respects to Sir Bobby Charlton as funeral held in Manchester

The funeral of the Manchester United and England legend, who passed away last month aged 86, was held at Manchester Cathedral today (Monday).

Thousands of people lined the streets as the funeral procession made its way past Old Trafford stadium.

Among those in attendance were former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and ex-players Paul Scholes, Peter Schmeichel, Steve Bruce and Brian Kidd.

England manager Gareth Southgate was also present, as was the Prince of Wales.

A World Cup winner in 1966, Charlton scored 49 goals in 106 caps for England and won three league titles, a European Cup, and an FA cup for Manchester United during his 17 years at the club.

Born in 1937, he grew up in Northumberland, alongside his brother Jack who died in 2020, and played for East Northumberland Schools before joining Manchester United in 1953 and making his debut aged 18 in 1956.

Charlton’s England debut came against Scotland in April 1958, only two months after he survived the Munich air disaster that killed 23 people, including eight of his teammates.

In November 2020 he became the fifth member of the 1966 World Cup winning team to be diagnosed with dementia.