Bobby Charlton

English football legend and 1966 World Cup winner

He is widely considered one of the greatest players of all time.^[1] In 1966, he was part of the England squad that secured the FIFA World Cup, and during that same year, he received the Ballon d'Or.^[1]

Quick Facts

Full name: Robert Charlton
Born: 11 October 1937
Birthplace: Ashington, Northumberland, England
Died: 21 October 2023
Place of death: Macclesfield, Cheshire, England
Position: Midfielder, forward

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Charlton was born on 11 October 1937 in Ashington, Northumberland, to coal miner Robert Charlton and Elizabeth Ellen Charlton.^[2] He was related to several professional footballers on his mother's side, including legendary Newcastle United and England footballer Jackie Milburn.^[3] Charlton made his debut for Manchester United in 1956 and survived the Munich air disaster of February 1958 after being rescued by teammate Harry Gregg.^[4] Charlton was selected for England's World Cup squads on four occasions: 1958, 1962, 1966, and 1970.^[5]

Upon ending his England career in 1970, Charlton held the record for the most caps for his country, with 106 appearances.^[5] For many years, Charlton held the record for the most goals scored for both Manchester United and England, and also held the record for the most appearances for Manchester United, with 758 matches.^[5] In 1984, he joined the board of directors at Manchester United.^[6]

What the cited sources add

The FIFPRO account states that in 1966, Bobby Charlton was appointed FIFPRO President at the first FIFPRO Congress.^[7] The International Football Hall of Fame account notes that Charlton's mother Cissie taught Bobby and his elder brother Jack how to play football.^[8] The BBC Sport article from 2015 records that Wayne Rooney broke Charlton's England goalscoring record on 8 September 2015.^[9] A 90min article identifies Charlton's peak period as 1963-1967 and lists his major achievements as the 1966 Ballon d'Or, the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the 1966 FIFA World Cup Golden Ball, the 1967-68 European Cup, three Football League First Division titles, and the 1962-63 FA Cup.^[10]

References

Wikipedia, "Bobby Charlton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The 50 greatest footballers of all time", 90min, 13 May 2019; Barnes, "What made Bobby Charlton the best footballer ever?", Radio Times, 8 October 2017 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Bobby Charlton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916–2007; 1939 England and Wales Register (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Bobby Charlton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; ; ; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Bobby Charlton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Bobby Charlton" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Bobby Charlton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Giggs nears Reds all-time record", BBC Sport, 3 May 2008 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Bobby Charlton" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Bobby Charlton", Yahoo! (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
"From five player associations to football's global union: How FIFPRO has been the voice of players for 60 years", FIFPRO, 15 December 2025. facts only, no text reused. fifpro.org
"Bobby Charlton - International Football Hall of Fame". facts only, no text reused. ifhof.com
"Wayne Rooney: England record is 'dream come true'", BBC Sport, 8 September 2015. facts only, no text reused. bbc.co.uk
"The 50 greatest footballers of all time", 90min, 13 May 2019. facts only, no text reused. 90min.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Bobby Charlton (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.