Denis Irwin is one of the many Manchester United legends to stream into Old Trafford over the past few days to pay their respects to the late Bobby Charlton.
The death of arguably the club's most iconic figure was announced on Saturday, and ever since then, footballers past and present have been recalling their interactions with the World Cup winner.
As someone who played for Man United for 12 years while Charlton was a director, Irwin knows as well as anyone how big a presence he was at the club during his post-playing career.
Speaking to the Man United media team, Irwin reflected on the character of a man who went on to achieve incredible things after surviving the 1958 Munich air crash as a 20-year-old, having lost eight of his young teammates in the accident.
"It's a sad time for Manchester United," said the Corkman. "I just hear stories about what a fantastic player he was. From my own point of view when I was here, he was in the dressing room win or lose after a game.
Denis Irwin remembers Bobby Charlton
"He used to train with us in Europe. The most humble man you could ever meet. Loved Manchester United. He would never listen to somebody having a bad word to say about Manchester United. A true legend of the game and it will be a sad loss.
"He was one of the Busby Babes. He survived Munich, eight years later he won the World Cup with England, two years later than that he won the European Cup with Manchester United.
"A legend of a player and he came back as a director, an ambassador for years and years and will be sadly missed, not just by the football community at Manchester United, but the football community around the world.
"If you travelled anywhere in the world, Bobby Charlton were the first words when you spoke to somebody so it's a real sad loss."
Emotional scenes as Old Trafford pays tribute to the late Bobby Charlton
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Old Trafford salutes Bobby Charlton
Irwin now has his own ambassadorial role at Manchester United, and watched the emotional tribute to Charlton at Old Trafford on Tuesday night, ahead of Erik ten Hag's side's 1-0 Champions League victory over Copenhagen.
Along with Roy Keane, Irwin had plenty of dealings with both Charlton brothers, having played under Jack for Ireland. While the siblings didn't always get on, the loss of both in recent times has been met with universal sadness in the world of football.
See Also: Bobby Charlton Remembered As "Manchester United's Greatest Representative"
