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Man United To Name Old Trafford Stand After Bobby Charlton

Published

9 years ago

February 15, 2016

Manchester United are to name Old Trafford’s South Stand, which contains the only original part of the 1910 stadium infrastructure, after one of the club and England’s legends, United director Bobby Charlton.
Charlton joined United as an apprentice in 1953 and made his debut in October 1956. He went on to make 758 appearances for the Club, scoring a club record 249 goals.
Until recently, the 78-year-old Charlton also held the honour of having scored the most goals for England, with 49 in his 106 appearances, until current United captain Wayne Rooney broke the record against Switzerland in September 2015.
The unveiling of the new name will take place at the Premier League home game against Everton on April 2.
The 78-year-old was England’s all-time leading scorer until Wayne Rooney broke his record of 49 goals last year and was knighted for his services to football in 1994.
United’s executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, said: “Bobby is quite simply the most iconic figure in English football history. A player, a diplomat, a gentleman and a tireless worker for charity, he represents everything that is good about football and Manchester United.
“It has been a privilege to know him and humbling to work alongside him for the last 10 years. Renaming the South Stand, which contains both the directors’ box and the old players’ changing rooms, is a fitting tribute to all that Bobby has contributed to the club both as a player and a director.”
Manchester United named the North Stand after Sir Alex Ferguson in 2011.