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A statue of footballing legend George Best which was unveiled to mark what would have been his 73rd birthday has attracted ridicule on social media. 

It was revealed outside Windsor Park stadium in Best's home town of Belfast as fans crowded to get a look at the bronze tribute.

However, many seemed to agree it did not resemble the former Manchester United star.

The statue, which captures Best dribbling with the ball, was unveiled by his sister Barbara McNarry and Northern Ireland teammate Pat Jennings.

It was created by a Belfast sculptor and funded by fans through public donations.

Speaking at the unveiling event, Mrs McNarry described the occasion as "momentous and emotional".

But the sculpture did not escape the ire of social media users.

One Twitter user compared the statue to Games of Thrones villain the Night King.

Others said it resembled different fictional characters.

Another Twitter user joked the George Best statue should be replaced with the Mr Tumnus statue in CS Lewis Square, Belfast.

Broadcaster Joel Taggart wrote: "Please tell me the George Best statue is better in the 'flesh' than it is in the photographs."

This is not the first time that statues of sports stars have failed to impress.

Dodgy statue of ex-Chelsea player Michael Essien joins long list of bad likenesses

A tribute to the former Chelsea player has drawn comparisons to the Ronaldo bust in Madrid - joining a long list of dodgy statues.

A bust of Cristiano Ronaldo went viral after being widely ridiculed on social media and compared to the Head from Art Attack and Sloth from The Goonies.

The backlash prompted the sculptor to make another attempt, this time creating a much-improved version.

Former Chelsea footballer Michael Essien also suffered a similar fate, after a statue of him installed in Ghana was described as "absolutely atrocious".

Some critics even described the creation as "horrible" and "cruel".