England World Cup hero and Leeds United legend Jack Charlton has died.
The 85-year-old passed away peacefully at his Northumberland home on Friday, his family said.
He had been suffering from a long-term illness.
Charlton, the older brother of Bobby Charlton, was part of England's World Cup-winning team in 1966.
He was a one-club man for Leeds United, making a record 773 appearances over a 23-year career as a player.
Widely hailed as one of the all-time great central defenders in the game, Leeds United said they were "deeply saddened" by the news.
His family said in a statement: "Jack died peacefully on Friday 10 July at the age of 85. He was at home in Northumberland, with his family by his side."
Nottingham Forest described Charlton as a "true great of the game", adding that he was a "great adversary, a fine manager and a terrific person".
The England football team tweeted: "We are devastated by the news that Jack Charlton, a member of our World Cup-winning team of 1966, has passed away.
"Our deepest sympathies are with Jack's family, friends and former clubs."
Charlton joined Leeds United at the age of 15 as part of the ground staff, before debuting as a player against Doncaster Rovers in 1953.
He helped the club to win promotion from the Second Division twice, and was also part of the side which won the League Cup in 1968 and the FA Cup in 1972.
He scored 96 times for Leeds, making him the club's ninth highest scorer in their history.
The popular player, affectionately known as "Big Jack", also won a total of 35 caps for England.
With the Three Lions, he played in every match during the 1966 World Cup tournament and helped to defeat West Germany in the final at Wembley.
A famous image from the team's World Cup victory showed the defender sinking to his knees at the final whistle before embracing his younger brother.
He later admitted he did not remember too much about it, saying: "There's a picture of me at the end down on my knees. I don't remember if I was saying a prayer or just knackered.
"I had chased after Geoff Hurst to give him a hug and chased our kid [Bobby] to give him a hug and then collapsed to my knees, so I suppose I must have been knackered."
Charlton retired from playing in 1973, later going into management.
He had spells in charge of Middlesbrough, Sheffield Wednesday, Newcastle United and the Republic of Ireland.
Charlton managed to guide the Irish team to three major tournaments, with Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald describing him as "Ireland's most beloved English man".
"Sorry to hear of his passing. He kept 'em all under pressure and kept us all cheering the boys in green on. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam," she said.
- SKY NEWS
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