JACK Charlton was born in 1935 and grew up in the mining town of Ashington in Northumberland.

After being turned down by Leeds United at 15, he went to work with his father in the local coal mine.

Fortunately for him, when he was 17 Leeds came back to offer him a career as a professional footballer, and he went on to have a stellar career both on and off the field.

But that limited spell down the mine shaped Charlton big time.

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In his autobiography, he said simply “I hated it”, recalling the claustrophobic darkness, the dust, the damp, and physical effort. After experiencing that he became determined to make it in football.

Charlton wasn’t earning huge money as a footballer either. In the early 1970s, the average wage in the then First Division was about £100 a week, about double that of the industrial wage at that time. Nice, but not life-changing.

Little wonder that he maintained what everyone who knew him described as a down-to-earth attitude for the rest of his life.

Watching the recent World Cup, I couldn’t help contrast and compare when I recalled what I had read of Charlton’s era and that of the modern-day soccer player.

The Spanish wonder kid Lamine Yamal is, according to various sources, on approximately £17m annually, which is not even believed to include his bonuses and performance-related payments.........

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