Rebel United

In 1969, at the age of 23, George Best wanted to focus solely on the essentials. Just football, just his job. So he turned his back on his two other great passions, alcohol and women. His sobering conclusion: "It was the worst 20 minutes of my life." A Manchester United legend, that quote sums up Bet's rebellious attitude towards football, and life in general.

Rebel United introduces players who prefer to swim against the tide, such as Barcelona and Spain legend Gerard Pique, who has achieved great significance beyond the pitch thanks to his Catalan pride and innovative spirit...

"La France, c'est vous." Translated as 'France, is you', that was what French president Charles de Gaulle told footballer Rachid Mekhloufi in 1968. Mekhloufi had just led his Saint-Etienne side to the double, and the reward was an audience with the most powerful man in the country. For Mekhloufi, this sentence brought things full circle. Now he was both Algerian and French; 10 years earlier, he had - in a sense - been neither.

In the latest from our series focusing on players who swam against the tide during their careers, we take a look at one of Germany's great sporting rebels

The Brazilian was tipped to become one of the greats, but he ultimately succumbed to the pressures of sporting fame

In GOAL's new series, we focus on the players who, despite their unbelievable talent, choose to swim against the tide of popular opinion

In GOAL's new series, we focus on the players who, despite their unbelievable talent, choose to swim against the tide of popular opinion

In GOAL's new series, we focus on the players who, despite their unbelievable talent, choose to swim against the tide of popular opinion