World Cup 2022: John Charles voted Wales' greatest male player
- Published
After his playing career John Charles managed Merthyr Tydfil and became a vice-president of the Football Association of Wales
John Charles is Wales' greatest male footballer, according to BBC Sport website voters.
Charles - known as the 'Gentle Giant' - topped our poll, landing more than 800 more votes than runner-up Gareth Bale.
Liverpool goalscoring legend Ian Rush came third, ahead of Ryan Giggs, Cliff Jones, Billy Meredith and Aaron Ramsey.
Charles played for Leeds United and Juventus and won 38 caps for Wales, scoring 15 goals, in a career which included the 1958 World Cup finals.
Born in Swansea, he joined Leeds when he was only 17, scoring more than 150 goals in eight years, including 42 in the 1953-4 season.
He moved to Italy for a then record fee of £67,000 in 1957 and scored 93 goals in 155 matches for Juventus.
Injured during a 1958 World Cup group game against Hungary in Sweden, Charles missed Wales' 1-0 quarter-final defeat to Brazil.
Captain Dave Bowen later told the BBC: "[Manager] Jimmy Murphy always said to me, 'Dave, if Big John had been fit for that match against Brazil, we'd have progressed further still'."
Charles, who played as both a centre-back and centre-forward, also played for Roma and Cardiff City during a career in which he was never booked or sent off.
Awarded the CBE in 2001, he died aged 72 in 2004, external.
Current skipper Bale is Wales' most-capped male player and leading goalscorer, with 41 goals in 110 appearances.
The former Tottenham Hotspur forward joined Real Madrid for what was a world-record transfer fee of £85.3m.
In a nine-year spell with the Spanish giants Bale scored 106 goals and won 15 trophies, including five Champions Leagues.
However, Bale's game-time was limited during the latter stages of his time in Madrid and fitness issues have affected his contribution for Los Angeles FC since he joined the MLS club in June.
Having helped Wales to the semi-finals of Euro 2016, Bale's play-off goals secured the country's only second ever World Cup finals appearance.
Rush - who also played for Juventus - is Liverpool's all-time leading goalscorer with 346 in all competitions, while his tally of 28 was a Wales record until overtaken by Bale in 2018.
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