10 Greatest Manchester United players of all time

#2 Bobby Charlton (1956-73)

Major Honours Won: 5

Sir Bobby Charlton - The face of Manchester United

Sir Bobby Charlton is the embodiment of Manchester United, having been associated with the club for almost his entire life.

Charlton signed with United as a 15 year old in January 1953 and progressed to debut for the first team in October 1956 wherein he scored twice on debut versus Charlton Athletic and went on to score his first hat-trick for the club the following February in another clash with Charlton.

Charlton was part of the "Busby Babes"; United manager, Sir Matt Busby's team of young academy prospects which won the First Division Championship in 1957.

However, the success that the team could have achieved was never to be, as tragically eight United players and another 36 members of the coaching staff and journalists were killed in the Munich Air Disaster, as the plane carrying the team crashed as it attempted to take off the second time on the icy Munich runway on return from a European Cup Semi-Final clash with Red Star Belgrade.

Charlton was one of the few survivors of the crash and was a central part of Busby's rebuild of the United team and went on to win two more League Championships with the club as well as the 1968 European Cup, which was won, rather fittingly 10 years after Munich.

Charlton retired from playing full time in 1975, one year after leaving United after two decades at the club. He was appointed to the United board of directors in 1984, a position he has held ever since.