Hero, icon, former South African President and lover of sport Nelson Mandela passed away today at age 95. The man who brought a peaceful end to apartheid in South Africa loved rugby and saw the unifying powers with sports. Both former and current Manchester United players publicly paid tribute to Nelson Mandela today. The official Manchester United Twitter made a personalized timeline that includes some of the most moving tributes.
I also included some of the tweets respecting and honoring the memory of Nelson Mandela from members of the Manchester United family:
An inspiration to all of us. RIP Nelson Mandela. Thank you for everything you have done! pic.twitter.com/XJnb4xG4L0
— Robin van Persie (@Persie_Official) December 6, 2013
Shortly after the passing of Nelson Mandela was announced, the Red Devils official account tweeted out a picture of Mandela with Sir Alex Ferguson. Liverpool FC tweeted out this pic of Nelson Mandela with their side around the same time.
We are saddened to hear of Nelson Mandela’s death. He was a truly great man. pic.twitter.com/EXLUHaDi7Y
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 5, 2013
RIP #NelsonMandela / #Madiba – the true inspiration.
— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) December 5, 2013
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also an analyst for multiple news talk radio stations across the country; with regular weekly segments on NBC and Fox Sports Radio. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) and RSS Catch him Tuesdays talking Illini and Northwestern for KOZN 1620 The Zone, Fridays talking Chicago Bears for WAOR 95.7 The Fan