BELFAST, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Football hero George Best will
feature on a million bank notes being issued in Northern Ireland
next month to mark the first anniversary of his death.
Ulster Bank said on Thursday it would issue the five pound limited
edition note a year after the celebrated Northern Irishman and
Manchester United star died from multiple organ failure.
Best, soccer's first superstar, will feature on the notes in his
Northern Ireland and Manchester United strips.
'At the outset of this project we wanted to ensure that, in
celebrating the life of this legendary footballer, we paid fitting
tribute to his contribution to football in Northern Ireland and
beyond,' Ulster Bank chief executive Cormac McCarthy said.
'By selecting the most affordable note denomination, five pounds,
we have tried to make the notes as widely accessible as possible,'
he said at the unveiling of the note's artwork where he was joined
by members of Best's family.
Best, who underwent a liver transplant in 2002, died on Nov. 25,
2005, at the age of 59 after a lifetime of heavy drinking. He had
suffered infection and internal bleeding and had problems with his
liver and kidneys.
He once summed up his turbulent life in one memorable phrase: 'I
spent a lot of my money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I
just squandered', but he also once said, 'forget about all the
rest, just remember me for the football.'
