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Manchester United player profile - George Best

George Best, the former Manchester United and Northern Ireland footballer, was born on the 22nd May 1946 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. At an early age it soon became clear that George Best had a very special footballing talent and at the age of fifteen he was discovered by Bob Bishop, a football scout working for Manchester United. In a telegram to the then Manchester United manager Matt Busby, Bob Bishop reportedly wrote of George Best, 'I think I've found you a genius'. It wasn't long before he was given a trial at the club and on 14th September 1963 George Best made his Manchester United debut at Old Trafford in a match they won 1-0 against West Bromwich Albion. George Best's first trophy with Manchester United came in his second season (1964/65) when they won the English League Division one title (now known as the Premiership). As a twenty year old George Best gained Europe-wide recognition after scoring two goals in a European Cup quarter final against Benfica of Portugal. As Bob Bishop had eluded to earlier George Best was indeed a football genius, he had fantastic ball control, great balance and pace, enjoyed taking on defenders and was a prolific goalscorer.

In 1964 he inevitably received a call up to play for his country and over the next thirteen years he won 37 caps for Northern Ireland scoring 9 goals in the process. George Best's unique football talent and showmanship combined with his good looks, long hair and party lifestyle led to him becoming one of footballs first real celebrities, often referred to as the 'fifth Beatle'. On the pitch Manchester United and George Best continued to enjoy success with a second English League Division one title in 1966/67 followed by the winning of the European Cup in the 1967/68 season. After the European Cup win George Best was named 'European Footballer of the Year', this accolade effectively marked the peak of his career as from that point onwards he seemed to slowly self destruct in footballing terms. Away from the football pitch George Best had invested his money in a number of businesses including fashion boutiques and nightclubs, but, his womanising, gambling and alcoholism started to detract from his football as he missed training sessions and fell fowl of the management at Manchester United. Eventually in 1974 he parted company with the club after 11 years, 466 appearances and 179 goals.

George Best spent the next nine years at a variety of football clubs including Fulham, Bournemouth and teams in America and Hong Kong, he eventually retired from the sport in 1983 at the age of 37. Alcoholism remained a major problem in the life of George Best, in 1984 he received a three month jail term for drink-driving, assaulting a police officer and failing to answer bail, in 1990 he famously appeared drunk on a UK prime time chat show, in 2002 he had a liver transplant and in 2004 he received a 20 month driving ban for drink driving. Despite his efforts George Best was unable to live without alcohol and in the end it proved to be fatal when in October 2005 he was admitted to hospital suffering from a kidney infection. Although he seemed to fight the illness his condition gradually worsened and on 25th November 2005 he died from multiple organ failure, however, George Best will always be fondly remembered as one of the world's greatest ever footballers.