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George Best danced himself into the pantheon of the greatest players of all time. George Best was catapulted to superstar status by the age of 19 and was already the best player in the world by the age of 22. To this date there haven’t been equals to the legendary North Irishman in terms of pure footballing talent.
There haven’t been football superstars who could match the charisma and brilliance of ‘El Beatle’. In modern day football, George Best would definitely be among the highest paid footballers in the world with his sheer footballing genius and marketability.
Best had a lot of ups and down in his career. Despite being an incredible footballer, he had a lot of controversies off the pitch. Due to his problems and the downfall of Manchester United after Sir Matt Busby led Best to quit European football. He continued his journey in the United States but it was all downhill for him after Man United. In the NASL, Best showed signs of his genius from time to time including this goal against Lauderdale Strikers, widely regarded as the greatest NASL goal ever.
There have been some very famous George Best quotes going all over the internet for years now. All the quotes are from his must-read book Blessed – The Autobiography . The book is a gem for all the people who want to know the inside stories of Best’s saucy lifestyle with the supermodels as well as his relationship with great Sir Matt Busby and others. A few of the most famous quotes from the book:
- “If I’d been born ugly, you’d never have heard of Pelé.”
- “I used to go missing a lot… Miss Canada, Miss United Kingdom, Miss World.”
- “Drink,Drugs and shagging models. The rest I just wasted.’
George Best on where his millions went.” - “I spent a lot of money on booze, birds, and fast cars. The rest I just squandered.”
- “In 1969 I gave up women and alcohol – it was the worst 20 minutes of my life.”
- “I’ve stopped drinking, but only while I’m asleep.”
ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary titled George Best: All By Himself is one of the best football documentaries to be aired on television. It beautifully presents the highs and lows of the career of one of the best players ever.
His brief but excellent stint at Old Trafford is still afresh in the minds of Red Devils faithful. Many remember him as one of the greatest players to put on the football boots. His colleagues have nothing but praise for the legendary Manchester United number 7.
“Shellito was taken off suffering from twisted blood!”
– Pat Crerand after Best had given Chelsea full-back Ken Shellito a torrid time.
“George was gifted with more individual ability than I had ever seen in a player. When you remember great names like Stanley Matthews and Tom Finney, I can’t think of one who took the ball so close to an opponent to beat him with it as Best did.”
“Manchester United’s glorious history has been created by people like George Best. Anyone who witnessed what George could do on the pitch wished they could do the same. He made an immense contribution to the game, and enriched the lives of everyone that saw him play.”
“You think of Maradona, and you think of di Stefano and Puskas in my day. There have been many great players but Bestie was definitely up there. He will be remembered for all the magnificent ability that he had and he was definitely one on his own.”
“He was a free spirit and had such charisma. With George and the rest of these players, I am sure we would have a lot of fun on the team bus! He loved life, but when it came to the game he was always focused. He gave everything he had to win. Yes, he left Old Trafford early, but he started at a young age and left so many great memories.”
“George was the best footballer I’ve ever seen. He was just a special talent. I’ve never seen anyone with the ability to beat people, to dribble, an amazing footballer. George Best was just the best. The greatest. He knew players went out onto the pitch to hurt him. They couldn’t get near him.”
— Harry Redknapp
“As a Manchester United fan I always saw George Best as a football legend and it was a proud moment for me when I wore the same number seven shirt as him. He is one of the greatest players to have ever graced the game and a great person as well.”
— David Beckham
“He has ice in his veins, warmth in his heart and timing and balance in his feet.”
– Danny Blanchflower
“I often mentioned George Best as the best player in Europe. The great football critics said that because of his technical skill, he was like a Brazilian athlete who danced the samba with the ball at his feet. George Best, until today is a footballer without comparison and his technical skills will never be forgotten.”
— Pele
“It seems impossible to hurt him. All manner of men have tried to intimidate him. Best merely glides along, riding tackles and brushing giants aside like leaves.”
— Joe Mercer, former Manchester City manager in 1969
“There may have been more talented footballers than George Best. But some people are blessed with something you just cannot manufacture. Call it charisma, call it magnetism, call it what you like, but they were simply stars – superstars, megastars. In truth, there isn’t a word big enough to do them justice. The Northern Irishman was a genius, undoubtedly. His ability to run with the ball and change direction at speed, his balletic movement, his goalscoring instinct were absolutely first-rate.”
— Jimmy Greaves
“George Best was a diamond. With a little flaw there. A thing of beauty, and we didn’t get it all. He didn’t get it all either.”
— Harry Gregg
“George was a superb player, one of the very best I attempted to kick in 21 years.”
— Ron “Chopper” Harris
“George was unique, the greatest talent our football has ever produced, easily. Look at his scoring record – 137 in 361 league games, and a total of 179 in 466 United matches. That’s phenomenal for a man who didn’t get his share of gift goals that fall to specialist strikers. George nearly always had to beat men to score.”
“There are times when you want to wring his neck. He hangs on to the ball when players have found better positions. Then out of the blue he wins you the match, and you know you’re in the presence of someone special.”
– Paddy Crerand, Manchester United team-mate, 1970
“It’s one thing to say young boys are going to be good players, it’s a totally different thing to say they’re going to be superstars. But right from the start, people knew that George had got something a bit special about him.”
— David Sadler
“He had a fantastic, cat-like balance. He was a will-o’-the-wisp, you were never comfortable when he had the ball and you were playing against him, because he would always beat you.”
— Alan Ball
“The closest I got to him was when we shook hands at the end of the game.”
– Northampton’s Roy Fairfax said after his side’s 8-2 loss in the FA Cup in 1970. Fairfax was man-marking George Best who scored six goals by the end of ninety minutes
“George inspired me when I was young. He was flamboyant and exciting. I think we were very similar players, dribblers who create moments of magic.”
“He was the best player I’ve ever seen. When I used to see him on the TV back home, the next thing I wanted to do was go outside and play on the street with a ball. He just had that kind of impact on me.”
— Sammy McIlroy
“Best was the best player in the world, not just England, and a good friend of mine. When he played against Benfica in 1966 in Lisbon, we lost 5-1 and George was spectacular, a genius.”
– Eusebio
“He had a most fantastic ability to play football. He was going out on the pitch to play in front of a 100,000 people as if he was going out to play on the streets of Belfast.”
— Mike Summerbee
“What he had was unique. You can’t coach it. If you go back to the basic qualities, he was exceptional.”
“He had the lot: Balance, pace, two good feet, he was brave, strong and a good header of the ball.”
— Johnny Giles
“He wasn’t slow coming at you, he was like an express train, and you never knew which way he was going to go. He could check, and he could go right, he could go left.”
— Sir Bobby Robson
“George Best was simply one of the most talented players of all time.”
– Franz Beckenbauer
“He could run as quickly with the ball as he could without it.”
— Norman Hunter
“Boss, I think I’ve found you a genius.”
— Bob Bishop, Man United scout’s quote about Best to the-then Manchester United manager Matt Busby
“George had the heart of a lion.”
— Barry Fry
“He was the finest player I ever played with or against. I treasure my memories of him even though on occasions he made me look rather foolish.”
— Pat Jennings
“With feet as sensitive as a pickpocket’s hands, his control of the ball under the most violent pressure was hypnotic.”
– Hugh McIlvanney .
Founder and editor of Footiecentral. A voracious reader who loves reading anything and everything related to the history of football. He’s an ardent supporter of Manchester United and rarely misses a match.