13 November 2023 , 16:54
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They came in their thousands, young and old, to honour the greatest English footballer of all time.
As Sir Bobby Charlton passed by Old Trafford for the final time, the sun broke through the grey clouds, lighting up the famous area, just as he did during his glittering Manchester United playing career. United fans began arriving at the Theatre of Dreams – the endearing name for Old Trafford coined by Charlton – from 10.30am, three hours before the funeral cortege was due to arrive.
A newborn baby, held by a proud grandmother, wore a United scarf to provide added protection from the bitingly cold wind, while other fans wore vintage shirts from Charlton's era, in honour of his formidable career. As the hearse turned into Sir Matt Busby Way at 1.30pm, a ripple of solemn applause broke out, the reverential tone continuing as it passed by the stadium where United's most iconic player made his name.
They stood five or six deep outside Old Trafford, craning their necks, phones in outstretched hands, standing on anything they could to get a clear view of the cortege, capture a moment of history and say a final farewell. A fan threw a United shirt onto the bonnet of the hearse, some yards later followed by scarf bearing the club's famous red, white and black colours, as supporters paid their respects to the club's most revered player.
The cortege proceeded slowly across the stadium forecourt, passing in front of the Trinity Statue, a lasting and fitting memorial to United's 'Holy Trinity' of George Best, Denis Law and Charlton, who led the club to such success. A guard of honour, made up of representatives of United’s Under-18 and Under-21 Academy teams, was a classy nod to the club's enduring commitment to youth, with Charlton having joined in 1953 as a 15-year-old.
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Saturday's 1-0 win over Luton was the 4,226th consecutive United game to feature a graduate from the club's youth system in the first team squad, a remarkable run stretching back to 1937 – the year Charlton was born. He came through under Sir Matt Busby, becoming one of the Busby Babes, surviving the 1958 Munich air disaster which claimed the lives of 23 people, including eight of his young team-mates.
Thousands of fans honoured Sir Bobby Charlton (Getty Images)Charlton, just 20 at the time of Munich, helped United recover from that tragedy to win the First Division title in 1967, followed by the crowning glory the following year, lifting the European Cup. Many years after he finished playing for United, Charlton revealed he would often find himself drawn to Old Trafford, driving there for no other reason than to feel the magnetic pull of its magical aura.
“Sometimes you find you're in the car and you're at Old Trafford and you think 'What did I come for?' but I just wanted to come,” said Charlton. “It's magic and what you dream of. I dreamed of being a footballer, my whole family was football-mad.
“The best thing I ever did was when I signed for Manchester United. It was just magic, absolute magic.” How fitting then, that Sir Bobby's final journey took him past the place he called home and where he forged his lasting legacy.