George Best plays professional soccer.
George Best ( 22 May 1946 -- 25 November 2005 ) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger for Manchester United and the Northern Ireland national team . Born and brought up in Belfast , Best began his club career in England with Manchester United , with the scout who had spotted his talent at the age of 15 sending a telegram to manager Matt Busby which read : `` I think I 've found you a genius . '' After making his debut for United aged 17 , he scored 179 goals from 470 appearances over 11 years , and was the club 's top goalscorer in the league for five consecutive seasons . The National Professional Soccer League ( NPSL ) was a North American professional soccer league that existed for only the 1967 season before merging with the United Soccer Association ( USA ) to form the North American Soccer League .