MANCHESTER: Thousands of people lined the streets of Manchester on Monday to pay their final respects to Manchester United and England great Bobby Charlton, who died last month at the age of 86. The 1966 World Cup winner, widely regarded as one of England’s greatest players, died after an accidental fall at his care home on October 21.

Crowds clapped warmly and held banners as the funeral cortege drove past United’s Old Trafford ground on its way to a private funeral service at Manchester Cathedral. The hearse passed the famous “United Trinity” statue immortalising Charlton, Denis Law and George Best and through a guard of honour made up of members of the club’s Under-18 and Under-21 squads.

There were numerous black-and-white photographs depicting Charlton’s long and illustrious career as a player and then as a director at the club. Around 1,000 guests including former United manager Alex Ferguson, England boss Gareth Southgate and Prince William, the Football Association president, arrived for the private funeral service, which started at 1400 GMT, along with current and former players.

Former United captain Bryan Robson, speaking outside the cathedral, told the BBC: “For a player to win the World Cup, win the Champions League and have such a long and successful career you’ve got to be a fantastic player to be able to achieve that. “But Sir Bob wasn’t just a great player, he was a great person and had time for everybody.”

Former teammate Alex Stepney said Charlton remained humble despite his success. “Nothing was over his head or anything like that, it was all about playing for Manchester United,” he said. “Even on international duty it was about winning and that was what Bobby Charlton was all about. A humble guy, a great family man. It never went to his head.” — AFP