Bert Trautmann, who played more than 500 games for Manchester City between 1949 and 1964, has died.
A message on the club’s Twitter page, said: “Manchester City FC are sad to announce club legend Bert Trautmann has passed away aged 89.”
The goalkeeper was originally a controversial figure in English football due to being a former member of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War.
However, he is perhaps best known for his heroics in the 1956 FA Cup final in which he played with a broken neck.
After sustaining the injury in the 75th minute Trautmann played on and made crucial stops to send City to glory.
The German did not initially realise the extent of the injury but found out three days later that he had dislocated five vertebrae in his neck, one of which was cracked in two.
In 2004, Trautmann was awarded an OBE for his efforts to improve Anglo-German relations though football.
Former Russian goalkeeper Lev Yashin – who is widely considered to be one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time –previously spoke of Trautmann’s greatness.
“There have only been two world-class goalkeepers,” he said.
“One was Lev Yashin, the other was the German boy who played in Manchester – Trautmann.”
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