True Genius: George Best

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On 20 November, the tabloid News of the World published a picture of Best (at his own request) showing him in his hospital bed with jaundice, along with a warning about the dangers of alcohol with his message: "Don't die like me". This was written a relatively short while before George died and it's refreshing in that it is all his own words. Charlton deduced that Best, the serial shagger, who is once supposed to have had sex with seven women in 24 hours, was thinking of getting married. Although Best was mostly renowned for his dribbling skills, he also drew praise for his ability as a creator; in regard to this ability, Daily Telegraph reader Tony Dove commented: "I only had the opportunity to see George play once in person – Man U played a tour game in Auckland, New Zealand, late in the 60s.

It was a compelling and highly enlightening look into the mind of someone that reached the pinnacle of his profession while battling alcoholism, and his insights into his disease were sobering (pun not intended). After failing to agree terms with Bolton Wanderers in 1981, he was invited as a guest player and played three matches for two Hong Kong First Division teams ( Sea Bee and Rangers) in 1982.Fue la prensa británica, el que lo rebautizó como “el quinto Beatle”, convirtiéndolo en un blanco instantáneo. But he was unable to cope with the success and fame his genius brought and his life story is littered with tales of women, sex and, of course, drink. Frustrated with the club's decline, Best went missing in December to party at the London nightclubs. Written by celebrated Manchester United author Wayne Barton, this biography goes into unparalleled depth to tell the complete story for the first time of how the lad from Cregagh, Northern Ireland, became the game’s first superstar. A security bespoke A1 Sporting Memorabilia hologram seal that shimmers and animates when tilted is included on every Certificate of Authenticity.

The dust wrapper, with a nice portrait of the author on the front and rear panels, is only very slightly creased along the top edge. This Limited Edition George Best autobiography - "Blessed" was personally hand-signed by the football legend himself, George Best. Enjoy reading about his fascinating talents and his intriguing lifestyle, all through newspaper coverage written by reporters who watched him play, both on the pitch and off it. In the early hours of 25 November 2005, treatment was stopped; later that day he died, aged 59, as a result of a lung infection and multiple organ failure. The great Manchester United and Northern Ireland attacker - one of the few sports personalities to merit the term 'iconic' - was almost always candid, lucid and self-effacing.No doubt in football, as in anything else, and to reprise Pete Townshend's often-quoted lyrics, the simple things you see are often horribly complicated, but the short sporting life and fast times of George Best (1946-2005) have never seemed particularly difficult to unravel. Christened the Fifth Beatle at his peak, Best was the first pop star footballer and had teenage girls flocking to Old Trafford decades before the likes of Giggs and Beckham. George Best was blessed with an extraordinary gift; he brought beauty and grace to soccer never before seen.

However United staff claimed it was light ligament damage so as to keep Best on the field for the rest of the campaign. In 2012, Best was featured in the list of The New Elizabethans to mark the diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. After a couple of decades spent examining the beautiful game from the angle of sober realism, top-of-the-range sports writing seems to have taken a 180-degree turn and decided that romanticism was what the public wanted all along.

However the way he was hounded by the press throughout his life is pretty horrendous and certainly doesn't change my already low opinion of the scum that are the English tabloids.

Best's last competitive game for the club was on 1 January 1974 against Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road, which United lost 3–0. We pride ourselves in using the best materials we can find, which is why our t-shirts will not fall out of shape after a few washes like other cheaper varieties you may find for sale elsewhere. If you have not yet listened to the interview I did on the Shoot the Defence, please do, as the host Mike Pieri described it as a genuine ‘wow’ moment.They also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, where a defeat to West Ham United cost Best the chance to break a record; in the final Preston North End's Howard Kendall became the youngest ever player in a FA Cup Final – he shared the same birth date as Best. The Irish Football Association described him as the "greatest player to ever pull on the green shirt of Northern Ireland".