Sir Bobby Charlton, Manchester United and England Legend, Dies at Age 86

Manchester United and English national team soccer legend Sir Bobby Charlton died at the age of 86, Sky Sports announced Saturday.

Charlton's playing career lasted from 1956 until 1980, and he is best known for his 17-year run with Manchester United from 1956 through 1973.

The attacking midfielder also earned 106 caps with England's national team from 1958 to 1970, and he was part of the squad that won the 1966 FIFA World Cup, which still stands as England's only World Cup triumph.

During his iconic run at United, Charlton was a three-time winner of the Football League First Division, which was the precursor to the English Premier League. He also won the FA Charity Shield twice and the FA Cup and European Cup one time each.

Additionally, Charlton was named both the FWA Footballer of the Year and the Ballon d'Or winner in 1966, plus he was the Ballon d'Or runner-up in 1967 and 1968.

All told, Charlton scored 249 goals in 758 matches across all competitions with Manchester United. He later went on to play for Preston North End, Waterford, Newcastle KB United, Perth Azzurri and Blacktown City as well.

For the English national team, Charlton scored 49 goals in 106 matches, placing him third on the Three Lions' all-time list behind only Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney.

During his national team career, Charlton scored once at the 1962 FIFA World Cup, which saw England get eliminated by eventual tournament winners Brazil in the quarterfinals.

Four years later, Charlton scored three times in the 1966 World Cup, including twice in a pivotal 2-1 win over Portugal in the semifinals.

Charlton was awarded the Golden Ball for his efforts, which is given to the best player at the World Cup.

In 1958, Charlton miraculously survived when the Manchester United team plane crashed during a takeoff attempt in poor weather conditions in Munich.

Dubbed the Munich air disaster, 23 people on the flight died, including eight of the 17 players who were on board. Charlton escaped with only minor injuries and returned to playing a month later.

Charlton has long been widely recognized as one of the greatest soccer players of all time, earning placement on many prestigious lists, including the FIFA World Cup All-Time Team in 1994, the Football League 100 Legends in 1998 and the FIFA 100 in 2004.

Among Charlton's other honors were being knighted in 1994 and getting selected to the English Football Hall of Fame as an inaugural inductee in 2002.