Former Manchester United great George Best was arrested for drink driving early on Friday, police said.

"He's been charged with driving while over the alcohol limit. He will be appearing at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court on Monday. He has not been detained in custody," a police spokeswoman said.

She said the arrest took place shortly after midnight in Merton in southwest London.

Best, 57, a former Northern Ireland international and the European Footballer of the Year in 1968, is one of the most gifted players ever to grace the game and was part of the Manchester United side which won the European Cup in 1968.

After his career ended in the early 1980s, he relaunched himself as a TV pundit but has attracted controversy due to alcohol problems.

He underwent a liver transplant in July 2002 after years of alcohol abuse.

Last month he spent 10 hours in jail during Christmas over an alleged assault but was not charged. In 1984 he was sentenced for 12 weeks for drink-driving and assaulting a police officer.

His estranged wife Alex is currently appearing nightly in a reality TV show set in a jungle in Australia -- "I'm a Celebrity - Get Me Out of Here" being shown live on British television.