Start gifting
Libro.fm for Business
Start a membership, get two free audiobooks
Almost ready!
In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.
Log in Create account
Limited-time offer
Get two free audiobooks when you make the switch!
Now’s a great time to shop indie. When you start a new membership supporting local bookstores with promo code SWITCH, we’ll give you two bonus audiobook credits at sign-up.
Make the switch
Gift audiobook credit bundles
You pick the number of credits, your recipient picks the audiobooks, and your local bookstore is supported by your purchase.
Start giftingBobby Moore
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
Learn more‘Immaculate footballer. Imperial defender. Immortal hero of 1966. Master of Wembley. Captain extraordinary. Gentleman of all time.’
These are some of the words inscribed beneath the statue of England’s World Cup-winning captain, Bobby Moore, at Wembley stadium. Since Moore’s death, of bowel cancer at just 51, these accolades represent the accepted view of this national treasure. But what do we actually know about Bobby Moore as a person? What about the grit alongside the glory?
Moore was undeniably an extraordinary captain and player. Pelé called him the greatest – and fairest – defender he ever played against. His feats for West Ham United and England are legendary and his technical mastery of the game ahead of its time. Few footballers since have come close to his winning combination of intelligence, skill, temperament and class.
Yet off the pitch, Moore knew scandal, divorce and drink. What about the string of failed businesses, whispers of bad behaviour, links to the East End underworld and turbulent private life? Ignored by the football world post-retirement, this great of the game drifted into obscurity and, famously, there was no knighthood.
Acclaimed football writer Matt Dickinson traces the journey of this Essex boy who became the patron saint of English football, peeling away the layers of legend and looking at Moore’s life from all sides – in triumph, in failure, in full.
Matt Dickinson is Chief Sports Correspondent for The Times, where he has worked for 17 years and covered five World Cups. He has won numerous awards including Sports Journalist of the Year. He has previously written books with David Beckham and Gary Neville but this is his first biography.