THE FAMOUS PAY TRIBUTE TO SIR BOBBY
Paul Gascoigne: "I'm speechless. I'm devastated. Bobby was like my second dad. I was like a son to him. I've had loads of texts from football players, managers, everybody.
"I can't describe how much he meant to me. I've just been crying for three hours, and I've come to see my mum and my dad. It's just unbelievable.
"He gave me a chance to play in the World Cup. I can't really talk that much because I just want to cry, that's all.
"I love him. And his wife Elsie - I'll always be there for her.
"I'm sort of numb. I'm emotionally drained. I want to go up and see his wife Elsie but it's a difficult situation for everyone. I'm going to miss him so badly."
Sir Alex Ferguson: "I was never too big or proud to ask him for advice which he gave freely and unconditionally. And I'm sure I am speaking for a lot of people when I say that.
"In my 23 years working in England there is not a person I would put an inch above Bobby Robson. I mourn the passing of a great friend; a wonderful individual; a tremendous football man and somebody with passion and knowledge of the game that was unsurpassed.
"His character was hewn out of the coal face; developed by the Durham County mining background that he came from.
"His parents instilled in him the discipline and standards which forged the character of a genuinely colossal human being. He added his own qualities to that which then he passed on to his sons.
"The strength and courage he showed over the past couple of years when battling against his fifth bout of cancer was indescribable. Always a smile; always a friendly word with never a mention of his own problems.
"The world, not just the football world, will miss him. Let's hope it won't be long before another like him turns up because we could never get enough of them."
Jose Mourinho: "I hadn't spoken to him in the last two months because it was hard for me.
"It was me who found it hard because I didn't want to think that he was dying, that wasn't the image that I wanted to keep with me forever of Bobby Robson, that wasn't the voice I wanted to hear.
"I wanted to and I will keep with me always the Bobby Robson of every day, a person who had extraordinary passion for life and for football, with an extraordinary enthusiasm.
"Bobby Robson is one of those people who never die, not so much for what he did in his career, for one victory more or less, but for what he knew to give to those who had, like me, the good fortune to know him and walk by his side.
"My thoughts and embraces go to all his loved ones."
Fabio Capello: "Sir Bobby was a wonderful man, a real gentleman.
"It's extremely sad that Sir Bobby has lost his final fight against cancer, but he will never be forgotten. He really was a great man.
"To manage the national team for so long was a remarkable achievement, and we all remember how close he came to leading England to the World Cup final in Italy."
Prince William: "I am deeply saddened to hear about Sir Bobby Robson's death.
"His contribution to English football as a player, manager and superb ambassador for our national game has been immense.
"He will be sadly missed by football fans everywhere, and I am thinking about his family at this difficult time."
Sepp Blatter: "I am deeply saddened and moved by the passing of Sir Bobby Robson, one of the greatest personalities of our game.
"I particularly remember how he managed to lead England to one of their best performances in history, when reaching the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup in 1990.
"He always showed great passion for the game and will be missed by all football fans across the globe. On behalf of the worldwide football family, I would like to thank Sir Bobby Robson for his memorable contribution to the beautiful game."
Bryan Robson: "I was fortunate enough to be given the England captaincy by him and I thoroughly enjoyed that role and everything about playing for him for eight years. We had some great times - the World Cups in Mexico in 1986 when we reached the quarter-finals and then Italy in 1990 when we got to the semi-final. He was just a pleasure to work with.
"I was with him in Portugal only a few weeks ago when I went over to play in his charity golf day which was a fantastic event. He was struggling [with illness] at the time and had been advised not to travel, but he wanted to be there. And last week he was at a charity football match at Newcastle raising money for others. That just shows the character of the man."
Glenn Hoddle: "It's devastating, very sad. Our feelings and thoughts go out to Bobby's family. Obviously for everybody in the football world it's a very, very sad day," he told , told Sky Sports.
"He's the closest we've come to winning the World Cup (since 1966) - that's how good Bobby was.
"In the 1990 World Cup with a little bit more luck and calmness in the penalty shoot-out, who knows what could have happened? He was right up there behind Sir Alf Ramsey in that sense. He was a football man, a very endearing man, quite comical.
"We had a fantastic squad certainly in '86 - who knows what could have happened if the 'hand of God' goal from Maradona didn't happen?
"You can see how respected he was all around the world.
"He was a very open and very honest person. He and Don Howe were closely-knit together in my era of playing under Bobby. He was someone that would talk to you. The lads really did take to him and have respect for what he's done not only in football but off the pitch. He was a very charming man but also a winner."
Ray Clemence: "It's a sad day for football and football people.
"He had such honesty and enthusiasm for the game as a player and manager. Even right up to the very end, when he spoke about football the enthusiasm still shone through how much he loved and cared about the game.
"Since Sir Alf Ramsey England have never been as close to winning the World Cup as we were with Bobby. At the top end of sport, these things are decided by the smallest issues and obviously it went to penalties.
"He certainly made the nation very proud because of the way the team played in that 1990 World Cup."
Stuart Pearce: "It is a massive loss, as a man, and to football.
"I cannot think of anyone in the game who was held in higher esteem. It was an absolute privilege and honour for me to work with him.
"My thoughts are with his family at this time."
Gary Lineker: "I was deeply saddened to hear of Bobby Robson's death. He was a great football man.
"He had a tremendous enthusiasm and passion for football and life and continued to retain this right to the last days of his life.
"He will be deeply missed by everyone, especially those who played for him. I have the fondest memories of playing for him at two World Cups.
"In recent years he undertook a great deal of work for his cancer charity and raised the profile considerably in addition to the monies raised."
Ray Wilkins: "Everyone had the utmost respect for him,'' he told Sky News, adding that players were willing to "run through a brick wall'' for him.
"He handled people in the right fashion and I think that was his major strength.
"He was a joy to be around.''
Sven-Goran Eriksson: "For me, he was the special one.
"First of all he was beyond football a great man, one of the kindest people I ever met.
"He helped me a great deal when I was a young coach and I visited him in Ipswich. He took me, an unknown coach from Sweden, down into the dug-out and explained the tactics.
"The year after Ipswich won the UEFA Cup, my team Gothenburg won it and he came and presented the trophy to me.
"When I became coach of England I called him many times and he was always generous with his advice and helpful.
"It seems he was as friendly to everybody as he was to me. In fact for me, he was the special one."
Arsene Wenger: "It was a shock because Bobby was a man of exceptional stature and someone I loved because he had an optimistic view of mankind and a positive vision for football.
"We will miss him sadly because people miss people of his stature and vision. It's a very sad day for English football but also football overall."
Rafael Benitez: "The death of Sir Bobby is a sad loss to football.
"His record in many different countries was testament to his talents as an outstanding manager, and he clearly never lost his tremendous passion and enthusiasm for the game.
"He will be sorely missed by all of us."
Harry Redknapp: "He was a great football man, a real family man.
"I was with him just a couple of weeks ago at a dinner, a charity weekend. He was there raising money for orphaned kiddies in Portugal as well as raising money for his cancer research. He was just amazing. He'll be sorely missed.
"He was a fantastic football manager, probably the most enthusiastic football man I've ever met in my life.
"Look at the job he did at Ipswich, and all over the world. I've never met a man with more enthusiasm and passion for football."
Gianfranco Zola: "There are wonderful memories.
"He is a man I respected very much. He was always positive and always smiling.
"He has been a great ambassador for football ingeneral and I pay my respects to him. He is a big loss for us."
Howard Wilkinson: "My best memories of Bobby are the funny ones, all the more funny because he remained blissfully unaware, nor offended that his faux pas became a source of such fun.
"At one England Under-21 gathering, I selected Shola Ameobi who was a young striker at Newcastle under him. Bobby had also bought at great expense Carl Cort, a striker from Wimbledon.
"Shola had about six Christian names, most of them, to me, unpronounceable and in an attempt to put him at his ease on his debut performance, I called the lad over and asked him what Bobby called him when he was at the club.
"With absolutely no sense of resentment, rather more with a sense of love and understanding, Shola said, 'Carl Cort, mostly'.
"At a time when 'great' and 'world class' are sometimes too freely ascribed, the descriptions underscore Sir Bobby Robson. He was truly a great and world class person."
Martin Jol: "Bobby Robson was a real football legend.
"He had something special and he also almost always turned his teams into champions. That is exceptional.
"He was a man who never gave up and over and over again he showed up in public. He was a striking personality."
Alan Hansen: "Bobby took a lot of criticism in 1986 but if you looked at the sides England had in 1982, 2002 or 2006 the players they had in terms of ability were far above those Bobby had," he said.
"Bobby could have won the World Cup in 1990 with what I thought was an average side.
"I had some dealings with him when filming documentaries and he was a bit like Bill Shankly.
"When you spoke with Bill or with Bobby you had a conversation for an hour and a half and you didn't have to say anything.
"He poured the tea and then it was 40 minutes straight off talking about Barcelona or Newcastle or what he was planning. His passion was phenomenal."
Denis Law: "I was extremely sad to hear the news about Bobby. I was with him last year at a charity event in Portugal where he was raising funds for an orphanage over there with a friend of mine and he was struggling a bit [with illness] then. He got up to make a speech and I thought he'd probably just do a few minutes, but he ended up speaking for half an hour! I couldn't believe it, but that was Bobby all over. He was enthusiastic about everything he did.
"Not only was he a wonderful player and manager, he was a wonderful man and a very brave man."
Jack Charlton: "He was a dedicated man in finding out about other teams - he was always at footballmatches.
"I liked Bob - he was a good lad, a good friend of mine."
Gordon Brown, Prime Minister: "I was extremely saddened to hear of the death of Sir Bobby Robson,.
"I had the privilege of meeting Bobby on many occasions. He epitomised everything that is great about football in this country.
"His passion, patriotism, dedication and professionalism knew no equal during his time both as a player and a manager.
"His remarkable achievements as manager of Ipswich Town and then of England are among the most distinguished in English football history, and he was able to replicate that extraordinary success during his time at PSV Eindhoven, Porto and Barcelona.
"Over the past few years, he fought cancer with his characteristic tenacity and good humour.
"He will be sorely missed - not only in Newcastle and Ipswich, both of whom he served with such devotion, but by all sports fans in our country.
"My sincere condolences go to his wife Elsie and his family.''
Tony Blair, former Prime Minister : "Sir Bobby was one of the nicest, most caring and genuine people I ever met - a real Geordie gentleman.
"He was, of course, an outstanding coach, but he was also immensely generous with his time and energy across a range of charitable activities.
"It was a privilege to have known him."