Sir Bobby Charlton spanned multiple football generations. This may help account for the outpouring of sorrow, appreciation and gratitude on his death. His passing, at 86, was not unexpected but no less painful, above all for family and friends, but also for a game too often lacking in the qualities he epitomised.
Three years ago, his family had announced his dementia diagnosis, the fifth member of England’s 1966 World Cup winning XI to fall victim to “the long goodbye.” His elder brother and England team-mate Jack died from a similar condition in 2020.
