The 'Best' drinking addiction

Many people look up to athletes; they become role models to people everywhere, but to see a role model destroying their life with drugs and drinking is a horrible sight. For an athlete that was capable of being a legend to destroy their career, their life, and their game is a waste of talent. One of these athletes destined for greatness was George Best.

Best was a skilled player on Manchester United, but his habit of drinking and partying denied him the path of becoming a legend. People say Best was going to be a star, but they never would’ve guessed that Best would ruin his career.

Best had a spectacular career as a winger. He would easily blow past defenders with his amazing speed and quickness while having complete control of the ball. His ability to cross, pass, and shoot with speed was an extraordinary skill.

Best would continue to drink and soon he was in need of a liver transplant. He was lucky to have survived when he got the transplant and he promised never to drink again. Best; however, wasn’t strong enough to fight his addiction and soon he was seen drinking in bars again. He was even arrested for starting a fight with a reporter at a pub.

Best’s drinking lead to the decline of his game. He became slower and he couldn’t do as much as before. Being a winger you have to be fast enough to get past defenders while maintaining control, but Best wasn’t able to do that as well anymore. He got heavier and slower which affected his game. He couldn’t get across defenders as easily anymore and he couldn’t control the ball as well either.

Best wanted to stop drinking because he knew what it was doing to him. He realized that drinking was just killing him and there was no reason to drink. "I know that I will never drink again," he said. "The only reason I would is because I want to kill myself or I want to go through this again - and I don't want either, so there's no reason to drink.” Best was in a depressed state, he felt as if he let his fans, his wife, and himself down and he couldn’t get away from drinking.

Today he is remembered as one of the greatest soccer players ever and he is considered as a legend. In a sense he was pretty successful, but he could’ve achieved much more if he didn’t get addicted to drinking. Best never thought his final match would be against drinking as he died on November 25,2005. "Drink is the only opponent I've been unable to beat," Best wrote in his second autobiography “Blessed.”