A Norwegian woman is claiming to be George Best’s secret love child – and has asked his son Calum to take a DNA test to prove it.
Isobel Jacobsen, 52, believes the late great Manchester United legend had a fling with her mother Bente during a holiday in Marbella in the early seventies.
She only recently unearthed her link with Best after discovering a picture of the Northern Irishman cradling her as a baby, having spent 30 years attempting to discover her father’s identity.
Isobel had a DNA test two years ago which revealed she is 40 per cent Irish, which made her even more convinced Best could be her father.
She now wants his reality star son Calum, 42, to take a DNA test to see if the pair are related.
Isobel Jacobsen (pictured), 52, believes the late great Manchester United legend had a fling with her mother during a holiday in Marbella in the early seventies
Isobel only recently unearthed her link with Best after discovering a picture that she believes is the Northern Irishman cradling her as a baby (pictured), having spent 30 years attempting to discover her father’s identity
Shortly after the football legend died in 2005, it was revealed Best had two daughters he had never met.
Speaking about the long search for her father, Isobel says: ‘It has not been so easy.
‘I want to know who it is, everyone wants to know where you come from. It has really been an eternal search. Mum has never wanted to tell me anything.’
On Best, she adds: ‘When I was born he was at the peak of his career.
‘That may help to explain why it had to be so secret. If there had been a bartender on the corner it might not have been such a big deal to keep this a secret.’
Isobel reveals how her mother, who died earlier this year, never revealed her father’s identity – and she presumed he was Spanish.
She explains: ‘My mother said that there was someone who didn’t care about me, so I shouldn’t think about that. ‘Then I didn’t ask anything more about it for many years.
‘Nor was anyone else who said they had any photos of him or knew his name.’
All Isobel knows is that she was born in Malaga in 1971 where her mother lived between 1969 to 1977, and that she went into foster care at a young age.
Isobel was reunited with her mother when she was six years old and went to live with her in her native Norway, and as she was born out of wedlock, her own identity was kept secret from many members of her family.
Isobel’s mother Bente (pictured) spoke five languages and worked as an interpreter and tour guide, working for many hotels
George Best pictured in 1977 with girlfriend Heidi Stillians, 18, at Hermosa Beach in Los Angeles, California
Isobel had a DNA test two years ago which revealed she is 40 per cent Irish, which made her even more convinced Best could be her father. She now wants his reality star son Calum (pictured), 42, to take a DNA test to see if the pair are related
George Best, who died in 2005 aged 59, kept a list of his romantic conquests in a little black book which was sold at auction for £1,500
Bente spoke five languages and worked as an interpreter and tour guide, working for many hotels.
She regularly mixed with both celebrities and royalty, and Best was a regular visitor to the Spanish resort during the latter end of his Manchester United career.
Isobel found the picture of herself and Best while clearing out her mother’s house shortly after she died.
She had seen the picture before, but now informed of her heritage courtesy of the DNA test, she began to wonder whether Best was actually her father after being told it was him in the snap.
Isobel explains: ‘I have seen this picture once before, when I was little.
‘Mum said it was me and a famous footballer, and that they had mutual friends in Spain.
‘She said that he happened to pass by the cafe she was sitting in and that he thought I was so beautiful and had taken me in his arms.
‘Then there happened to be a photographer there, who had taken these pictures.’
Isobel, who has no interest in football, always presumed the man in the picture was a Spanish player, but has only recently been informed it is Best.
In November 2005, days after the football icon passed away, a former mistress revealed Best had two secret daughters.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, ex-model Gina DeVivo, who had a fling with Best in 2003, said: ‘I asked George how many children he had and he told me three – two girls and a boy – but was extremely sad that he was only in contact with his son Calum.
‘He said his biggest ever regret was not being part of the girls’ lives.’
Best’s former agent Phil Hughes revealed his client fathered a love child 36 years ago who he was never able to meet.
The girl’s mum had fallen pregnant while engaged to a businessman and the baby was passed off as the groom’s.
Hughes said: ‘George once told me about his daughter and said he wasn’t allowed to see her.
‘He wouldn’t want to do anything that would upset the girl, her mother and her husband.’
Isobel reveals she has contacted Best son Calum regarding a DNA test but has yet to receive a response.
Best is regarded as one of football’s greatest ever players, winning the European Cup with Manchester United in 1968 ten years after the Munich Air Disaster, which killed a number of the club’s young stars known affectionately as ‘The Busby Babes’.
He scored 137 goals for the Red Devils and won 37 caps for Northern Ireland.
However, Best’s off-field behaviour and alcohol issues overshadowed his career.
He famously quipped: ‘In 1969 I gave up women and alcohol – it was the worst 20 minutes of my life.’
The Belfast-born star was married twice – to Angela MacDonald-Janes in 1978, and to Alex Pursey in 1995.
Best had a liver transplant in 2002, and died on 25 November 2005 in London’s Cromwell Hospital from multiple organ failure, aged 59.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk