Genius can often go hand in hand with a self-destructive streak and if ever a footballer suffered from this, it is George Best. His magical skills on the field which won him acclaim as one of the sport's greatest-ever talents are still legendary but - as events over the summer have shown - all too often over the years they have been eclipsed by tales of his excesses.
Best, arguably the world's first superstar footballer, once famously said of his lifestyle: "I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered."
But while he may have shown an apparently cavalier regard for many things in his life, notably his health and women, he has treasured both his memories and his memorabilia - the many trophies won in his glory days. Indeed, he confesses that those permanent reminders of his achievements have given him comfort during some of the troubled times in his rollercoaster life.
Now he has sold two of the most precious trophies in his collection - Footballer of the Year presented by the Football Writers' Association, and European Footballer of the Year. He won both in 1968 when he was 22. Best, now 57, says: "I feel sheer pride when I look at them and I have been very emotional for me about selling them. I had a lump in my throat when I touched them for the last time.
"While I was playing and coaching all over the world I managed to keep them with me, and they took a bit of a battering - just like myself! But selling these trophies is something I have been thinking about for quite a while. I've taken comfort from those trophies in my bleak moments but I have never been one to live in the past and the time is right to let these two go."
Best insists he doesn't need the money - so why is he giving them up? "For the last 20 odd years I have been frightened to death they might get stolen so they've been locked away in the bank. That seems a terrible waste - and if I have a chance of letting them go to a football enthusiast who would treasure them, well why not?"
Now a successful football commentator and writer - the second volume of his best selling autobiography, Scoring At Half Time, has just been published - he plans to use the proceeds to buy a holiday retreat, possibly in Corfu.
He does feel torn about the decision, though, and there is emotion in his voice when he remembers his glory days on the pitch. "The year when I won those two trophies was pure utopia for me. I suppose in a way it spoiled everything else because life just wasn't going to get any better. In football terms it was perfection.
"I was just 22 and I had a year that some players don't get in 30 years. I was also the season's top scorer with 28 goals in the League. For a kid from Belfast who had only ever dreamt about kicking a ball around to win those two awards was beyond belief. It had been the dream of my whole life and I had done it."
He became the third Manchester United player to win the European award, following in the footsteps of Denis Law in 1964 and Sir Bobby Charlton in 1966. "People used to call us the Three Musketeers, and every time I see Bobby he is so proud of the fact that was our nickname."
It was the culmination of five years of breathtaking football. Best made his League debut for United at 17 and won the first of 31 international caps for Northern Ireland before he was 18. He was perhaps the most important member of the great United team which won the League Championship twice in the 1960s.
Then in 1968 United won the European Cup. It was particularly poignant because it was ten years after the tragedy of the Munich air crash when many members of the Manchester United team died on their way back from a key European Cup match in Belgrade. Manager Sir Matt Busby had narrowly escaped with his life.
"Winning the European Cup at Wembley was particularly special because it had been a dream for Sir Matt, and one which had nearly cost him his life. I scored the final goal against Benfica in extra time."
The excitement of receiving the European Player of the Year trophy, a silver football mounted on a plinth, was almost too much. "I was given it on the pitch at Old Trafford just before a match. I wished they had waited till afterwards because it was difficult getting it before the game and having to perform. There were a few tears and celebrations afterwards.
"Actually they were only able to give me the top half, the ball, because it had got damaged in transit. I think that's the only time that had ever happened."
And the award from the Football Writers Association was similarly moving: "I had the same feeling of elation and pride. After all you are talking about an award from people whose livelihood is writing about football. It is the biggest honour in this country."
Whilst those treasured possessions have now gone, there are some things he will never part with. "I still have my first football boots that I took with me when I left Belfast to come to England to join Manchester United. My mum and dad scrimped and saved to buy me those boots, because we didn't have any money in those days and I would find it impossible to let those go.
"I also have the first ball I kicked for the team, and the boots I wore on that occasion. I have some of my international caps and shirts. One I particularly value is the one I wore for my testimonial game in 1988 - it was number 11, because I played with that number as well as number 7. That is precious because Callum was a baby then and we have a photograph of him and me together on the pitch."
As we all know, a lot has been said and written about George Best - and not all good - but as the Irish legend himself says: "They can write what they like about me - and a lot of it's rubbish - but they cannot take away my football achievements and my memories. That was really what it was all about - the football."
* article reproduced by kind permission of Players Club, official publication of the PFA
NOTE: Since the article was written the European Player of the Year made £167,250.00, the purchaser wished to remain anonymous but did however reveal he was an avid football fan and it was his plan to make the trophy available in the future for public display. The other trophy did not make it's reserve.
