Belfast Property - Simply the Best

Ask 100 football fans to name the greatest footballer ever and you’ll get a wide spectrum of answers. Repeat the same question in the centre of Belfast and you’ll get only one answer – local boy George Best. He was undoubtedly one of the biggest talents ever to grace the football field however the trappings of success proved to be the Irishman’s undoing. Discovered in Belfast by Manchester United scout Bob Bishop, Best made his debut for Manchester United in 1963. He immediately made an impact on the club with his goalscoring feats and assisted the Red Devils in their European Cup success.

In playing for the Manchester giants, Best had come a long way from the small, Belfast property in which he grew up and, despite some ill-advised behaviour, he became a popular figure across Britain and Ireland. His pinnacle came during the 1967-68 season when he scored in the European Cup Final to secure a 4-1 victory over Benfica and was later named European Footballer of the Year. What proved to be a sad decline began in the mid 1970s when Best left Man United after 470 appearances and 179 goals. He went on to have a chequered career entertaining fans across the world but never settled in a team in the same way he had clicked at Manchester United. Following his death in 2005, Belfast’s main airport was renamed George Best Belfast City Airport as a lasting tribute. Fans from other countries have different ideas on who is the greatest footballer ever but the people of Belfast have a clear view as demonstrated by the local saying: ‘Maradona good, Pele better, George Best.’