Beckham leads the tributes as Man Utd prepare to pay homage to Busby Babes

David Beckham has led the tributes as football remembers Manchester United's famed Busby Babes who tragically died in the Munich air disaster.

On Thursday, United will hold a commemorative service at Old Trafford for the eight players and three members of United's staff who passed away on February 8 in 1958 in Munich.

Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Liam Whelan were the players who died on that day 62 years ago.

And ahead of the service, a number of big names from the world of sport uploaded tributes to their social media accounts.

Beckham uploaded a photograph to the team on his Instagram account and captioned it up: 'Today we remember The Flowers of Manchester, their legacy lives on forever'.

He was joined in his tribute by Marcus Rashford, who uploaded the same photo and wrote: 'The Flowers of Manchester. There’s not a day goes by that I take this shirt for granted. You will never be forgotten'.

Harry Maguire, who joined United in the summer, added: 'We will remember them'.

On-pitch rivals Liverpool also uploaded a tribute to their Twitter. They posted: 'The thoughts of #LFC are with all those affected by the Munich air disaster. 62 years ago today, but never forgotten.'

Along with the players, three club officials were killed in the disaster — secretary Walter Crickmer, trainer Tom Curry and coach Bert Whalley.

A service will be held on Thursday afternoon at 2.45pm, with supporters and staff to gather at the Munich memorial clock.

It will be led by reverend John Boyers and there will be poems, prayers and songs, including anthem The Flowers of Manchester.