Sir Bobby Charlton diagnosed with dementia

1 November 2020, 15:23 | Updated: 1 November 2020, 16:57

England World Cup winner Sir Bobby Charlton has been diagnosed with dementia.

News of the 83-year-old's diagnosis came two days after his club and country team-mate Nobby Stiles died after his own battle with the illness.

The Telegraph said that his wife, Lady Norma, had given her "blessing" for the Manchester United and England great's condition to be reported.

In July, Sir Bobby's brother Jack also died, himself having previously being diagnosed with dementia.

Sir Bobby is regarded as one of England’s best ever, if not the best, footballers.

Gary Lineker, whose 48 England goals put him one behind Sir Bobby in the all-time goalscoring charts, wrote on Twitter: "Yet another hero of our 1966 World Cup winning team has been diagnosed with dementia.

"Perhaps the greatest of them all, @SirBobby. This is both very sad and deeply concerning."

A 1966 World Cup winner, he held England’s goalscoring record of 49 for close to 50 years until it was broken by Wayne Rooney. The same man would take his Manchester United record when he passed the 249 goals he scored for his beloved Red Devils.

Sir Bobby’s 249 Manchester United goals came across 758 games for the club, with his England goals coming in 106 appearance and nearly all were from midfield.

A survivor of the Munich Air Disaster in 1958, he helped the rebuilding of the club in the wake of the tragedy and scored two goals as they beat Benfica to win the European Cup in 1968.

A statement from Manchester United read: "Everyone at Manchester United is saddened that this terrible disease has afflicted Sir Bobby Charlton and we continue to offer our love and support to Sir Bobby and his family."

England football club said on their official twitter account: "Sending our best wishes to @SirBobby and family."

A study, led by consultant neuropathologist Dr Willie Stewart of Glasgow University and published in 2019, revealed that former footballers are approximately three and a half times more likely to die from neurodegenerative disease than the general population.

The report, commissioned by the Football Association and the Professional Footballers’ Association, assessed the medical records of 7,676 men who played professional football between 1900 and 1976.

Their records were matched against more than 23,000 individuals from the general population.