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Bobby Moore was a complete natural as a leader in every sense, as Sir Geoff Hurst told FourFourTwo.

Even when you watch the 1966 World Cup final today, through modern eyes, one thing becomes obvious straight away: Bobby Moore was an outstanding player.

A great deal about football has changed in the 60 years since England won the World Cup, but Moore would still fit seamlessly into the modern game.

The centre-back’s elegance, composure, and readiness to carry the ball forward and provide a threat in the final third would be just as valuable to Thomas Tuchel now as they were to Sir Alf Ramsey then. And yet, that still is not the first thing most people mention when they talk about Moore.

Just ask Sir Geoff Hurst, who rose through the youth ranks at West Ham alongside Moore before the pair went on to play well over a thousand matches between them for the club, winning the FA Cup and the Cup Winners’ Cup as well, quite apart from what they achieved together for England.

Yet although Moore was only eight months older than his centre-forward, Sir Geoff says he always regarded Moore as someone to look up to.

Sir Geoff told FourFourTwo: "[Bobby] was a fantastic player - the best player I played with - and his reading of the game, and his calmness and his distribution were terrific. He made two goals in the 1966 World Cup Final as a central defender.

"But he was always one I looked up to, although he's similar age to me.

"The word I often use with Bobby is ‘immaculate’.

"When we went to lift the World Cup trophy at Wembley in ’66, I was right behind Bobby. He saw the Queen wearing white gloves and he wiped his hands before he shook hers so as not to dirty her gloves.

"I mean, who does that after winning a World Cup Final? An immaculate man with an immaculate character."

Sir Geoff added: "It’s funny because some people are just born with it.

"Without being elected, it’s like they are in parliament, and often without even realising it, they’re just born for greatness – born to lead and inspire.

"You get them in all walks of life, from business to sport, and these people automatically show themselves as leaders.

"Bobby was the captain of West Ham’s youth teams, then the captain of West Ham and then England.

"He didn’t ask for it, he didn’t scream or shout or dominate people, he just inspired. He had that glow about his character you can’t really describe – you just followed."