BREAKING NEWS: England 1966 World Cup winner and Leeds United legend Norman Hunter dies aged 76, a week after being admitted to hospital with coronavirus

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Norman Hunter, the Leeds United legend, has died after a brave fight with coronavirus.

The 76-year-old, who played 726 games in 15 years at Elland Road, was admitted to hospital with Covid-19 earlier this month.

A Leeds spokesperson said the club was ’devastated’ at the sad news.

Leeds United have announced the death of legendary defender Norman Hunter 

Hunter, 76, contracted coronavirus last week and passed away in hospital on Friday

The defender enjoyed a 20-year career, playing for Leeds United, Bristol City and Barnsley

A club statement read: 'Leeds United are devastated to learn of the passing of club icon Norman Hunter at the age of 76.

'Norman was taken to hospital last week after being diagnosed with COVID-19 and despite continuing to battle and the best efforts of NHS staff, he sadly lost his fight earlier this morning.

'He leaves a huge hole in the Leeds United family, his legacy will never be forgotten and our thoughts are with Norman’s family and friends at this very difficult time.' 

Hunter played 726 games in 15 years at Elland Road. In the great sides managed by Don Revie, he won First Division titles in 1969 and 1974, the 1972 FA Cup and League Cup and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup twice. 

Hunter was nicknamed 'Bites yer legs' due to his uncompromising style as a defender

The Leeds icon became the first ever winner of the PFA player of the year award in 1974

Only three Leeds players — Jack Charlton, Billy Bremner and Paul Reaney—- have made more appearances for the club than Hunter who, as one of the best centre halves of his era, also won 28 England caps.

None of those came at the 1966 World Cup, where he was behind Charlton and Bobby Moore, but as a squad member he was belatedly handed a winner’s medal in 2009.

Of course, Hunter’s place in footballing folklore goes beyond numbers and trophies. 

The former defender was part of the England squad that achieved World Cup glory in 1966

Hunter (right) pictured with Jimmy Greaves at Downing Street after winning his medal

While invariably rated as a footballer of the highest quality by those who saw him at Leeds between 1962 and 1976 and then for three years in the Bristol City side who reached the top flight, his reputation is generally tied to his uncompromising style.

He drew the nickname ‘Bites yer legs’ after a banner carried the message at the 1972 FA Cup final and famously got into a punch-up on the pitch in 1975 with Derby County’s Francis Lee — after the pair were sent off! 

The defender was an integral cog in the Leeds winning machine of the 1960s and 1970s

Hunter leaps in the air to celebrate Allan Clarke's winner in the 1972 FA Cup final

Hunter (second right) celebrates with his Leeds team-mates after their 1972 FA Cup triumph

Hunter was born in Eighton Banks, Gateshead in 1943 and joined Leeds when he was 16 years old. He made his debut for the Yorkshire club in 1962 and go onto form a defensive partnership with Jack Charlton that lasted a decade.

He was an integral component of Leeds' progression from the second to the first division, and rarely picked up injuries. In an age where sports science is nowhere near the level it is now, Hunter played over 50 games a season for nine seasons in a row. A remarkable feat.  

He won the League twice as well as the FA Cup and League Cup during his time with the club

He won his first League title in 1969, having won the League Cup in 1968 before clinching the FA Cup in 1972. A picture of Hunter leaping into the air following Allan Clarke's winner against Arsenal is enscribed in FA Cup folklore. 

Hunter helped Leeds go on a 29-match unbeaten run at the start of the 1973-74 season, as the club went on to romp to their second League title in four years. His performances saw him clinch the first ever PFA Player of the Year award.

He featured in two European Cup finals for Leeds in the 1970s, where the club lost to AC Milan and Bayern Munich. In 1976, Hunter waved goodbye to Elland Road and joined Bristol City for £40,000. 

He spent three seasons with The Robins, scoring four times over 122 appearances for the club before joining Barnsley where he ended his career as a player. He was also Barnsley manager between 1980 and 1984.  

Hunter with the PFA Player of the Year award after his fine season for Leeds in 1973-1974

In 1998, Hunter's contributions to football were recognised as part of the Football League's centenary celebrations, with the Leeds legend recognised on the list of 100 League Legends.

Messages of condolences have flooded in on social media after the club announced the passing of the legendary defender. 

Gary Lineker wrote: Sad news. Norman Hunter has passed away. Grew up watching that great side of which he was a huge part. 

Messages of condolences flooded in on social media following the tragic news

'This awful virus was one crunching tackle too far but he’ll be biting yer legs somewhere. RIP Norman.'

Piers Morgan wrote: 'RIP Norman Hunter, 76, from #coronavirus. One of the hardest men to ever play football, earning himself the nickname ‘Bites Yer Legs’. 

'Also one of the best defenders to grace the game, & was part of England’s 1966 World Cup winning squad. Very sad news.' 

Hunter's England team-mate Peter Shilton wrote: 'Very shocked and deeply saddened at the loss of Norman Hunter I played with him @England and continued to meet him at various football events over the years it was always great to catch up with him, a wonderful man Condolences to the family such a terrible loss.' 

Fans flocked to Elland Road to pay tribute to their legendary former defender on Friday

Scarves, flowers and shirts were left at the Billy Bremner statue to pay tribute to Hunter

SPORTSMAIL'S OBITUARY FOR NORMAN HUNTER

Leeds United legend Norman Hunter has died in hospital after contracting coronavirus.

Hunter, 76, was admitted to hospital last week but passed away on Friday.

A tough-tackling centre-half and defensive midfielder, he played more than 700 games for Leeds and was part of the England squad as they won the 1966 World Cup.

Chopper Harris, Anfield Iron Smith... and Bites Yer Legs Hunter. Three players who defined a very different era of English football, and who very much earned their nicknames.

Hunter in conversation with England coach Sir Alf Ramsey as Sir Bobby Charlton (left) watches

Hunter (third left) went on to play 28 games for England with the likes of Bobby Moore (centre)

Ron Harris, Tommy Smith and Hunter came from a generation of footballers who played on bogs of pitches and very much enjoyed a strong tackle.

They built their careers on their reputations, and that very much still resonates now, some 40 years since they hung up their boots and called it a day.

Hunter himself was a pioneer and popular with his peers. To caricature the former centre-back as simply a hatchet man is to do him a disservice. There was far more to his game than big tackles in a 15-year Elland Road career that brought him 726 first-team appearances.

He was crowned the first winner of the PFA Player of the Year in 1974 after helping Leeds to the First Division title.

It was the third and final league title of Hunter's time at Elland Road, marking the end of a golden era at the club, probably the most famous in their history.

He had helped them up from the old Division Two in 1964 and within five years they were champions of England for the first time in their history in 1969.

Hunter played as a defender and was nicknamed 'Bites Yer Legs' for his hard tackling

They finished First Division runners-up five times in that 10-year period between promotion and the second league title in 1974 - never finishing below fourth, a remarkable run for a club that had dipped in and out of the English top flight for much of its history before.

Under Don Revie and in a side which boasted Billy Bremner and Peter Lorimer, Hunter was a key figure at the back, forming a partnership with Jack Charlton that formed the bedrock of their success. 

It wasn't just domestically where they excelled, this Leeds side made their mark in Europe. Twice they won the now defunct Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, though that was as much as they won on the continental stage.

In 1973 Revie's side were controversially beaten in the Cup Winners' Cup final by AC Milan, and Hunter himself was sent off in the last minute.

UEFA later banned referee Christos Michas for life due to match fixing, although his role in this match was not investigated. Leeds lodged a request for the final to be replayed, but to no avail.

Two years later Jimmy Armfield picked Leeds up from the disastrous 44-day spell of Brian Clough and led them to the final of the European Cup.

A Lorimer goal in the 62nd minute was disallowed, when captain Bremner was adjudged to be offside and Bayern Munich went on to win 2-0.

Hunter, pictured in interview with Sportsmail in 2017, enjoyed a distinguished playing career

Hunter remained at Elland Road for a further two seasons before moving to Bristol City and then a spell in the lower leagues with Barnsley, eventually hanging up his boots in January 1983. 

But it is that 10-year period, where he helped to drag Leeds out of the Second Division and to the cusp of European glory for which Hunter is so well remembered by fans. 

In that time he was a non-playing member of England's victorious World Cup-winning squad and had to wait 43 years before he was belatedly bestowed with a winners' medal at an event at Downing Street.

Hunter earned only 28 international caps in an England career that spanned nine years. 

He played in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, where Sir Alf Ramsey's side surrendered a two-goal lead to be beaten by West Germany in the quarter-finals. His defining moment in a Three Lions shirt, however, is one of ignominy.

Hunter (No 6) stares down at Francis Lee as both were sent off for coming to blows in 1975

In a crucial World Cup qualifier in 1973 he lost the ball on the Wembley halfway line, allowing Poland to score a crucial equaliser. England, world champions just seven years earlier, were denied a place in the 1974 tournament. 

Hunter never let it affect him, and it is tempting to wonder how vilified he could have been in a different age. He maintained he was never concerned by what other people thought of him as a player - he knew his role.

'I was never concerned about anyone outside the Elland Road dressing room,' he told the Independent in 2004, 'except maybe for Alf Ramsey.

'The gaffer would say to me, "Norman. You win the ball and you give it to those who can play." And that was [Jonny] Giles, Bremner, [Eddie] Gray, [Terry] Cooper and people like that. Not bad options, were they?' 

'It's quite amazing, really, why all those reputations should stick around from our era. The famous football hard men, even now, are Nobby Stiles, Tommy Smith, Chopper Harris and Norman Hunter, and I wonder why.

'Even youngsters seem to know about us. There have been plenty of hard men since, harder men than me, but that period just seems to stick in people's minds.'

The reputation has stuck and been passed down from generation to generation for a reason. 

Hunter restrains Liverpool's Kevin Keegan after an altercation with Billy Bremner in 1974 

In the replay of the 1970 FA Cup final, one of the dirtiest games in English football folklore, Hunter traded punches with Chelsea's Ian Hutchinson. Elsewhere, Ron Harris hacked down Eddie Gray in the back of the knee, Eddie McCreadie made a flying kick towards Bremner's head and Jack Charlton kneed and headbutted Peter Osgood.

But it was a bad-tempered game with Derby at the Baseball Ground in November 1975 that secured Hunter's place in football's annals of infamy, and an epic punch-up with Francis Lee that saw both sent off.

Hunter threw the first punch in an off-the-ball incident inside the Leeds area, something which commentator John Motson said 'had been brewing for quite some time'.

Lee's lip was split and his ego bruised. He tried to leave his own mark as they filed off the pitch, shooting off left and right hooks at someone twice his size in the vein of Scrappy Doo. That incident, and the Poland goal, are Hunter's two biggest regrets from his glittering career. 

'It's funny,' he said 16 years ago. 'I played over 700 games for Leeds, 120-odd games for Bristol City, and I'm remembered for three things: Norman bites yer legs [famously emblazoned on a Leeds United banner at the 1968 League Cup final], the punch-up with Francis Lee, and that goal against Poland.'