Sir Bobby Charlton diagnosed with dementia

Sir Bobby Charlton has been diagnosed with dementia, it has been reported.

The Telegraph said that the 83-year-old's wife, Lady Norma, was happy for the Manchester United and England great's condition to be reported.

The newspaper said Lady Norma had given the breaking of the news her "blessing", with the announcement coming two days after his club and country teammate Nobby Stiles died after his own battle with the illness.

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.

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.”

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.

"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," said Gary Lineker, himself a scorer of 48 England goals, on Twitter.

Sir Bobby's 249 Manchester United goals came across 758 games for the club, with his England goals coming in 106 appearances 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.