Best refuses to stop drinking

A friend of Best’s told The Sun “He now has a death wish. No one seems able to stop him. He knows if he carries on drinking he’s a dead man. It’s unbelievable what he’s doing, not just to himself but to Alex.”

Best, 54, went alone to Ireland last weekend and returned home to Chelsea in West London to go boozing.

“Alex went from pub to pub trying to find him. She was in tears. She loves him and wants him to get better. But she knows there’s nothing she can do but plead with him to stop,” the friend said.

In March Best was rushed to hospital after turning yellow through liver failure, caused by years of alcohol abuse. He vowed to give up, but was back on the bottle by July. He and Alex then tried to get away from it all by relaxing in Spain’s Puerto Banus.

In July, doctors tending the ravaged footballer after his liver all but collapsed openly pleaded with publicans and friends to refuse him alcohol.The supremely talented football player captured the essence of the swinging sixties with his swaggering style both on and off the pitch.

Best won a European Cup with Manchester United in 1968, captained Northern Ireland while still in his early 20s and was described by Pele as the most gifted natural player he had ever seen.

He was also famous for the string of beautiful blondes he dated, including various Miss Worlds.