Fans turn out to say farewell to Sir Bobby Charlton at his funeral

The 1966 World Cup winner’s funeral cortege was welcomed with gentle applause as it drove past the stadium’s East Stand and the United Trinity statue, which features Charlton himself, George Best and Denis Law.

Representatives of the club’s under-18 and under-21 teams formed a guard of honour flanking the statue and, behind it, there were numerous black and white photographs depicting Charlton’s long and illustrious career as a player and then a director at the club.

High on the glass wall of the East Stand were two huge black and white photographs – one of Charlton in his Busby Babes playing days and the other of him as the club’s elder statesman as a director – flanking the words Sir Bobby Charlton, 1937-2023. Forever Loved.

The cortege made its way across the stadium apron, lined by crowds three or four deep in places, before making a right turn out of the complex to continue its three-mile journey to Manchester Cathedral in the city centre.

Among the invited guests at the funeral included the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, current first-teamers Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Northern Ireland’s Jonny Evans and a host of former players – including some of Charlton’s old team-mates, England manager Gareth Southgate, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, Prince William, the Prince of Wales and Football Association president, and Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano.

It was a simple tribute: a single black, white and red scarf tied around the neck of Sir Bobby Charlton’s statue at Old Trafford.

Of the thousands of fans who lined the apron of the stadium to pay their respects as Charlton’s funeral cortege drove past, one had climbed the 20-feet high bronze and marble United Trinity sculpture of George Best, Denis Law and Charlton to adorn the latter with club colours.

United marked the final journey of one of the club’s all-time greats with numerous black and white photographs depicting Charlton’s long and illustrious career as a player and a director and even his work with the Bobby Charlton Soccer Schools, an initiative which ran for nearly 45 years and helped discover David Beckham.

The crowd began to swell after 1pm and it ranged from mothers with prams to teenagers to those who would actually have seen Charlton play live in his pomp.

There were tourists with suitcases either coming to or leaving Manchester – Mancunians and Scandinavians coming together to pay their respects.

One elderly man, front and centre at the Trinity statue, proudly sang the old songs celebrating Charlton, Best and Law and the Busby Babes. While his was a lone voice, his efforts were reciprocated with a gentle round of clapping from those nearby.

Another man took it upon himself to reverentially wipe down the huge marble base of the statue by sculptor Philip Jackson where a wreath in club colours had been placed.

As the cortege approached headed for the exit on Sir Matt Busby Way, named after Charlton’s manager of the 1950s and 60s, many of the crowd followed it out as best they could before it took a right turn and headed for Manchester Cathedral in the city.