LONDON, Oct 3: Former Manchester United player George Best is in intensive care in a London hospital with a kidney infection, his agent said on Monday. “He has a kidney infection brought on by a reaction to the treatment he has been receiving for his liver,” agent Philip Hughes said. “He has responded to treatment and is better than he was when he was admitted.”

Belfast-born Best, regarded by many as the greatest player ever to come from the British Isles, has had an alcohol problem for much of his life and underwent a liver transplant in 2002 after years of heavy drinking.

The 59-year-old had a dazzling but relatively short career at Manchester United, winning the European Cup in 1968 when he was named European Footballer of the Year.

But his career nosedived when he left United aged just 26 and he has remained dogged by alcohol problems.—Reuters