For many football fans, the phrase "he's the new George Best" will be a familiar one. Over the last 35 years barely a season has passed without someone being hailed with the title. I remember a lad from Hibernian called Peter Marinello in 1971 called the new Bestie when he signed for Arsenal. He wasn't. He had long hair, though, and that was just about enough to invite the comparison.

As soon as anyone displays a bit of pace, skill and trickery, it's inevitable that this old cliche is trotted out once again. And until now it has always proven to be way short of the mark. The player often possesses little of what made Bestie great and the comparison is a bit embarrassing to all concerned.

When Wayne Rooney emerged at Everton, it only took a season before the title was assigned to him by  fans and journalists alike. But Rooney, great player that he is, is no George Best. He isn't as quick, as quicksilver, as mercurial or as outrageously skilful.

'Ronaldo isn't just a show pony – he was, but he isn't any more. He has learned to deploy his incredible array of skills to tear teams apart and to score goals'


For the last 35 years I never thought anyone would ever fill Bestie's boots; that no one was ever going to be the new George Best, primarily because the man was so extraordinary. If you ever saw him play live, he was an awesome sight in his pomp. He was able to run as fast with the ball as without it. He was always two steps ahead of a defender, knowing both what the defender would do and what he would do in response even before the thought had entered defender's head.

George's close control of the ball was second to none. It appeared tied to his foot. He would beat a defender then go back and beat him again, just for the hell of it. In the European Cup in the mid-1960s playing for Manchester United, he was an unstoppable force, gliding through what were often brutal defences whose intent was to kick the living c**p out of you.

And all of this was played out on pitches that were like a ploughed field and at a time when the extent of physiotherapy was having Vaseline rubbed into you by a former sergeant major and pre-match training was a steak and a pint of Guinness.

So I'd given up on seeing a new Bestie. Until last Tuesday night, that is.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the new George Best. He is literally the inheritor of the legendary No.7 shirt, but more than that, he is the modern embodiment of everything Bestie was. His performance in that astonishing 7-1 victory was breathtaking. Audacious skill, vision and entertainment, all performed at high speed. It blew me away. I never thought I would ever see a footballer play with that kind of panache and, just as crucially, effectiveness, again.

Ronaldo isn't just a show pony – he was, but he isn't any more. He has learned to deploy his incredible array of skills to tear teams apart and to score goals. It's not just self-indulgence, its not just 'look at what I can do' for its own sake and that is what has taken him to his current exalted level.

He is a mesmerising player; a blur of feet attached to an astonishing body. He is freaky looking, tall and built like a brick s**thouse, but with a low centre of gravity. He has the thick neck of a bull but the feet of a dancer. While Thierry Henry at Arsenal in previous seasons has displayed awesome invention and pace, he pales in comparison to Ronaldo on his current form. Unlike Henry, Ronaldo is a total footballer who doesn't bottle it on big occasions. He's scored 21 goals so far from midfield, he can play left or right wing or up front, or in behind a front two. He can tackle and he's a consummate header of the ball. He's like two players in one, the like of which I have never seen.

While he has been prone to throw a hissy fit, like Henry, this season his histrionics have been tempered and he's been a far better player because of it.

It's impossible for any modern player to have the broader cultural impact that Georgie Best did and Ronaldo will never be as rock-n-roll or as downright good-looking either, but in terms of pure football, he is the real deal. On Tuesday night, it was a privilege to witness his genius and it was a performance that, like so many of Bestie's, was the stuff of legend.

Bestie is dead, long live the new Bestie.

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John Nicholson writes each week for Football 365 and EPL Talk. You can listen to John's wonderful stories on episode 30 and 45 of the EPL Talk Podcast, as well as purchase his excellent Footy Rocks book and order one of his unique rock'n roll T-shirts.