George Best Quotes

“Even at the height of my fame, fifty per cent of the people who saw me wanted a fight; it’s the downside of being a star player.”

“Every team has a hard man. We had Nobby Stiles, Chelsea had Chopper, Arsenal had Peter Storey, Liverpool had Tommy Smith. Leeds had eleven of them.”

“Everyone went crazy over Wayne Rooney, but I get more excited by Cristiano Ronaldo.”

“Football is a sad game.”

“I always wanted more – more of everything.”

“I definitely don't think that money can buy you love. It can buy you affection but certainly not love.”

“I don't recognize myself in the players I see today. There's only one who excites me, and that is Thierry Henry. He's not just a great footballer, he's a showman, an entertainer.”

“I found it difficult to watch myself playing on TV because I couldn't identify with the person on the screen. I couldn't get to grips with it. It was as if it was all happening to someone else.”

“I must be the only person in the world who's looking forward to going into hospital. I can't wait to get it over and done with.”

“I never went out in the morning with the intention of getting drunk. It just happened.”

“I took a penalty against Chelsea in 1971 and Peter Bonetti saved it. I wish I'd sent it the other way.”

“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. I might have given the boss a heart attack!”

“I used to go missing a lot... Miss Canada, Miss United Kingdom, Miss World.”

“I want to be remembered for my football and the pleasure I gave people.”

“I was born with a great gift, and sometimes with that comes a destructive streak. Just as I wanted to outdo everyone when I played, I had to outdo everyone when we were out on the town.”

“I was ill, and everyone could see it but me.”

“I was in for 10 hours and had 40 pints – beating my previous record by 20 minutes.”

“I will respect this liver. After all, it's not mine.”

“I'd have to be superman to do some of the things I'm supposed to have done, I've been at six different places at six different times.”

“I'm OK. Much better than on other occasions. It's true that I've made lots of mistakes but I've never tried to bother anyone. I want to stay alive, preferably in peace, without seeing every one of my mistakes in the papers, and on many occasions, even stories that are lies.”

“I've stopped drinking, but only while I'm asleep.”

“If I'd been born ugly, you'd never have heard of Pelé.”

“If you make up your own mind, you can only blame yourself.”

“It is typical of me to be finishing a long and distinguished drinking career just as the government is planning to open pubs 24 hours a day.”

“Love is about mutual respect, apart from attraction.”

“Maybe 'loner' is too strong a word, but I've always enjoyed being on my own.”

“Me and a mate picked up two darling birds and they took us back to their flat. I went into the bedroom with my bird and she started getting undressed. I was that drunk I was standing there wondering how to get undressed without letting go of the award. I went to sit on the bed, missed it by four feet and ended up lying on the floor. I remember the bird looking down at me, and saying, ‘Some player of the year.’ Then I fell asleep. I woke up still clutching my award and staggered out of the flat. I hadn’t a bloody clue where I was.”

“My one big regret is that I didn’t play on for ten more years.”

“One day they might even say that I was another Ryan Giggs.”

“Pain is temporary, glory lasts forever!”

“Pelé called me the greatest footballer in the world. That is the ultimate salute to my life.”

“People always say I shouldn't be burning the candle at both ends. Maybe they haven't got a big enough candle.”

“People say you have to hit rock bottom, and, I can tell you, almost dying is as rock bottom as it gets.”

“Robert Redford used to be such a handsome man and now look at him: everything has dropped, expanded and turned a funny color.”

“That thing about being an icon, the fifth Beatle, I just found it so freaky.”

“The best thing about being a dad? Well, I think it's just the thing that every man wants – to have a son and heir.”

“There isn't a single player I would pay to watch. A great entertainer needs to have charisma.”

“They say I slept with seven Miss Worlds. I didn't. It was only four. I didn't turn up for the other three.”

“They say Paul Gascoigne is the new George Best but has he shagged three Miss Worlds?”

“They told me I wouldn't make 25. Then it was 35, then 45. These were my doctors speaking – they're all dead now.”

“Well, there's no point in asking me. I can't remember what happened last night!”

“When they first installed all-seater stadiums everyone predicted that the fans wouldn't stand for it.”

“You can't trust very many people.”

“I might go to Alcoholics Anonymous, but I think it would be difficult for me to remain anonymous.”

“I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered.”

“If you'd given me the choice of going out and beating four men and smashing a goal in from thirty yards against Liverpool or going to bed with Miss World, it would have been a difficult choice. Luckily, I had both.”

“In 1969 I gave up women and alcohol. It was the worst 20 minutes of my life.”

“They'll forget all the rubbish when I've gone and they'll remember the football. If only one person thinks I'm the best player in the world, that's good enough for me.”

“Don't die like I did.”

“There have been a few players described as the new George Best over the years, but this is the first time it's been a compliment to me.”

“He cannot kick with his left foot, he cannot head a ball, he cannot tackle and he doesn't score many goals. Apart from that he's all right.”

“I'd give all the Champagne I've ever drunk to be playing alongside him in a big European match at Old Trafford.”

“He's not fit to lace my boots as a player.”

“To call Keegan a superstar is stretching a point.”

“I once said Gazza's IQ was less than his shirt number and he asked me: 'What's an IQ?'”

“I think he's a very talented player, but he's not in the same class as me.”