George Best

“I rate Fabien Barthez and played with two great keepers in Alex Stepney and Harry Gregg.”

“When I was playing, there were always lots of teams in contention for the league - Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Leeds. Every week was a big game and a big battle.”

“I'm lucky that, despite all the bad press I've had over the years, the public still seems to like me.”

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

“I was 19 or 20 when The Beatles were at their peak, and I was coming up to the peak of my career, too. I was also the first footballer to have long hair, and that's how I got my nickname 'th...”

“David Beckham has never impressed me.”

“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.”

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

“I became a beach bum.”

“I got my buzz from playing.”

“There isn't a single player I would pay to watch. You can say Thierry Henry, he's a fabulous striker, with pace and power, but a great entertainer needs to have charisma, too. Does he have c...”

“I can remember earning £5,000 a game playing for Hibs at the end of the Seventies. They let me commute from London, train on the Friday and play on Saturday. That lasted until my friends at...”

“Dave Mackay is my definition of a superstar. The man broke his leg three times, but wouldn't be carried off. He walked off.”

“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 have really been disillusioned with soccer in England.”

“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.”

“We were the first generation to have to deal with the modern stardom of football. Some handled it better than others.”

“I was probably the first footballer ever to have a pop-star profile, and my agent was right when he said we could put my name on stair rods and sell them to people in bungalows.”

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