George Best
- Profession: Professional Football Player
- Place/Date of Birth: Belfast, 22 May 2020
- Date of Death: 25 November 2020
- Associated with: Calum Best
George Best’s Funeral (see photos)
Footballer George Best is to be laid to rest tomorrow (3/11) in a ceremony in Belfast. The funeral cortege is to be taken around the city for fans to pay their last respects before a public service at Stormont’s Parliament Buildings where TV presenter Eammon Holmes and George’s son Calum Best will be among those providing readings.
Following the ceremony Best will be buried privately at Roselawn Cemetery next to his mother, Ann. (see photos)
George Best has died - Nov 25, 2020
George Best has died aged fifty nine. The football legend died whilst on life support with his family, including play boy Calum Best, at his bedside.
Best was on a life support machine for the second time in as many months following a string of infections and illnesses stemming from an alcohol problem that plagued the star for many years and resulted in a controversial liver transplant.
Probably most well known as a Manchester United footballer, Best was the original superstar footballer as well known for his spectacular on pitch performances as his rock n roll, hard drinking, womanising lifestyle. Making his debut for the team in 1963 he was arguably the number one footballer of his generation, also making numerous appearances for his national team of Northern Ireland and helping Man U take home numerous trophies however, after nine years his lifestyle took its toll and he retired at just twenty six…he has since admitted that he wasted his hard earned money “I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars – the rest I just squandered.”
In the years after his career ended Best fought a constant battle with drink, spent twelve weeks in prison and carried on affairs with a string of women even whilst married.
After being ordered to stop drinking in 2000 he was granted a liver transplant but despite clambering back on the wagon his marriage to model Alex fell apart and he found himself suffering from increasingly ill health.
His death comes as no real surprise to doctors or family who have been watching and hoping now for several days.
Final Hours - Nov 25, 2020
George Best has just hours to live according to his doctors.
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The first Celebrity Footballer, Best was not only noticed for his style and flair on the pitch but his showmanship and fashion-sense. His hairstyle saw Best dubbed the 'fifth Beatle' and he was even invited to appear on Top of the Pops. In the 1966-67 season Best scored in the European Cup Final against Benefica and consequently was named European Footballer of the Year and Football Writers Association Player of the Year.
However the glamour of stardom had seduced Best. In the late sixties he opened two nightclubs, Oscar's and Slack Alice's and invested in clothes shops in partnership with Manchester City's Mike Summerbee. However the lifestyle led to gambling, drinking and womanising and in 1974 Best was sacked from Manchester United for failing to attend training and matches and persistent boozing. He played his last game for the team on New Year's Day.
Despite a brief resurgence in 1976-77, playing for Fulham FC, Best drifted around football clubs in the UK, America and Australia never regaining the promise he had shown in the sixties. Now considered one of history's greatest players, placed eleventh in the IFFHS European Player of the Century listing and spoke of in Northern Ireland as the finest player to have graced the pitch; 'Pele good, Maradona better, George Best'.
In 1984 Best was sentenced to three months in prison for drink driving, failing to answer bail and assaulting a Police Officer, it was clear that the problem that had lost the footballer his career was destined to rule his life. He continued to drink throughout the rest of his life and it was this that dominated headlines - from his drunken appearance on Wogan to reported physical abuse of his wife Alex in 2004.
In 2002 Best underwent a liver transplant but nonetheless continued to drink much to the disgust of press and public. Three years later Best was admitted to hospital with kidney problems - a side effect of the drugs which stopped his body from rejecting his new liver. Close to death Best requested a picture of him be printed in the News of the World with the message 'Don't Die Like Me'. He survived for longer than doctors expected but in the early hours of November 25 2005 his treatment was withdrawn and Best died.
A huge public outpouring of grief commenced, the pinnacle of which was a massive state funeral in Belfast. In addition Belfast airport was renamed George Best Belfast City Airport and commemorative five pound notes were produced.
Married twice, his first wife Angela Macdonald-James, mother of Best's son Calum, died in 1986. Alex Pursey divorced Best in 2004 amid claims of adultery and physical abuse.
March 2007