The late soccer legend George Best has left his entire estate to one of his sisters -- but his only son will receive just a watch and his two ex-wives nothing, a lawyer confirmed on Friday.
Former Manchester United and Northern Ireland star Best, who died in November 2005 at age 59 after a decades-long battle with alcoholism, left an estate with a gross value of just ?525,680 (US$1.03 million), according to a grant of probate document filed on Friday in a London court.
But Paul Tweed, the Belfast lawyer representing the will's main beneficiary, Best's sister Barbara McNarry, said that the net payout would be far lower, possibly less than ?130,000, once British inheritance taxes and other debts are cleared.
Tweed confirmed that Best's March 2000 will specified that his only child, Calum, should receive a commemorative designer watch from the 1994 World Cup and nothing else.
He said Best's two former wives -- Angie, the mother of Calum, and Alex, who was divorced from Best in 2004 -- were getting nothing.
Tweed said Barbara McNarry was specified as the key beneficiary in part because she oversees a memorial fund in Best's honor and was most involved in promoting his legacy.
Nonetheless, the small size of Best's estate following a career as one of the sport's highest-paid athletes confirmed the truth of one of his most famous quotes: "I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered."
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