George Best

The people of Northern Ireland have sorted out my whole life. ”

It all went wrong with football, the thing I loved most of all, and from there, my life slowly fell apart. ”

In 1969, I gave up women and alcohol - it was the worst 20 minutes of my life. ”

I used to dream about taking the ball 'round the keeper, stopping it on the line, and then getting on my hands and knees and heading it into the net. When I scored against Benfica in the 1968 European Cup final, I nearly did it. I left the keeper for dead, but then I chickened out. ”

Football is big business - you can't get away from it. But you have to separate that side from the playing. ”

I dressed more like a pop star, I suppose, rather than the traditional blazer and tall trousers other players went for. ”

From the FA to UEFA and FIFA, there's a naivety, a lack of knowledge and understanding and packed with people who are out of touch. ”

You can't trust very many people. ”

As long as I stay in training and play well, I don't see what objection there can be to what I do off the field. ”

My long hair and the sideburns made me stand out, really, because my hairstyle was completely different to the other footballers of that era. ”