one of the greatest soccer players ever...

Football legend George Best remains "very seriously ill" despite the easing of internal bleeding he has been suffering, his consultant has said.

"Quite what will happen over the next 24 hours is difficult to say," Professor Roger Williams said.

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Playing alongside greats such as Denis Law and Bobby Charlton at Manchester United, Best's talent and showmanship made him a crowd and media favourite. He was dubbed "the fifth Beatle" for his long hair and good looks, but his extravagant celebrity lifestyle led to problems with gambling and alcoholism. Best often tells a story of a bellboy who entered his hotel room with breakfast in the early 1970s. Seeing Best drunk, in bed with the current Miss World, with a magnum of champagne and several thousand pounds of cash won from a nights gambling, the youth exclaimed, "George, where did it all go wrong?" In 1974, the 27-year-old Best was sacked by Manchester United for excessive drinking and persistent failure to attend training and matches. Over the next decade, Best drifted between several clubs including Fulham, Stockport County, Dunstable, Hibernian, Los Angeles Aztecs, San Jose Earthquakes and finally Bournemouth until he retired from the game in 1983 at the age of 37.