George Best: Remembering a Football Legend on His 80th Birthday

George Best would have been 80 on 22 May.

It is six decades since he started to dazzle home audiences, over 40 since he last played a game.

But Best is one of a rare breed whose legacy endures. Either in the colours of Manchester United or Northern Ireland, the highlights of his career encapsulate why many who saw him still argue he was the best player ever.

For those who are younger, whose parents were too young to see Best play, there is a modern-day comparison.

"Lionel Messi is close to Best in the way he plays. He can dribble, beat people, score goals and make goals," said another former United and Northern Ireland great Sammy McIlroy.

McIlroy counted Best as a hero when he was growing up in Belfast.

Best later became his mentor and a team-mate.

"Messi has got this amazing dribbling ability," said McIlroy.

"Best had that too but it was in the 1960s, when the conditions were much different to the way they are now.

"The pitches were terrible and your opponents wanted to hurt you. Norman Hunter, Tommy Smith and Ron Harris were good players but they were cruel in the way they played.

"It didn't bother George. It didn't matter who was dishing it out. He used to take the rough stuff, get up and say, 'come on then, let's have some more'.

McIlroy was 13 when he went to Windsor Park to watch Best produce what is dubbed as the 'game of his life' for Northern Ireland against Scotland.

"I never saw another performance like it in my life," he said. "It was a one-man show. He made me want to be a footballer. He made me want to join Manchester United.

"Everything came naturally to him. Left foot, right foot, shoot, head, tackle."

But there was more to Best than what he did on matchday.

McIlroy recounts he was a fierce competitor in training. And, at odds with the devil-may-care attitude his off-field antics often portrayed, he was also a father figure to young Northern Irish boys like him who travelled to England with dreams of playing for Manchester United.

"He was a natural lad, a lovely lad," said McIlroy. "He spent a little bit of time with me, as he did with the all the other Belfast trialists that came over. George always had time for you. I really admired that.

"When I signed as an apprentice in 1969, I brought my mum and dad over and right away he came across and spoke to them. I was standing there listening to him telling my parents he would look after me.

"My dad's eyes were just glued on Bestie. He never opened his mouth. He was just in awe of George."

Here we've picked out five reasons why Best is regarded by many as one of the greatest players in history.