Thiago Silva labelled Pele as forever the king of football as tributes flooded in from Brazil players after the Selecao great s death on Thursday.

The three-time World Cup winner suffered multiple organ failure after being moved to palliative care in Sao Paulo earlier in December when his body stopped responding to cancer treatment.

Sao Paolo s Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital confirmed the cause of the 82-year-old s death before tributes poured in from players, clubs and sporting organisations.

Pele helped Brazil to World Cup success in 1958, 1962 and 1970, with no player in the tournament s history winning more, and the likes of Silva and Casemiro joined in sharing their memories of the former forward.

Forever the king of football, the Legend!, Chels…

Brentford manager Thomas Frank is worried but hopeful about the knee injury that saw Ivan Toney stretchered off late in their 2-0 win over West Ham United on Friday.

Toney, who has been in the news after being charged with 262 breaches of the Football Association s betting rules, scored the opening goal and got the assist for the other before being stretchered off in the 90th minute after landing awkwardly on his right knee.

The England forward appeared in significant pain, which Frank said was worrying but needing further assessment.

Hopefully he s okay, Frank told SkySports. I m happy for the three points and another goal to add to his tally.

I don t know exactly how he will be against Liverpool in three days time, it s unlikely he s subbed off becaus…

Inter crashed out of the Coppa Italia as Stefano Pioli was haunted by former club Lazio, who claimed a 2-1 quarter-final victory at San Siro.

The hosts came into the tie on a nine-match winning streak and Lazio had lost two straight games, but the form book was turned upside down in a match that saw both sides finish with 10 men.

Felipe Anderson headed in his third goal of the season in the first half as Serie A s fourth and fifth-placed teams did battle in the cup.

And Lucas Biglia struck with a second-half penalty after Miranda had been sent off for a foul on Ciro Immobile.

Inter had hopes of a comeback when Stefan Radu received a second yellow for the visitors and Marcelo Brozovic struck with a late header, but Lazio survived.

Lazio, who ar…

Former Manchester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson believes the competitiveness of the Premier League may have come as a surprise to Pep Guardiola.

It has been somewhat of a culture shock for Guardiola since arriving to the physicality and wide-open nature of England, where City are 10 points adrift of leaders Chelsea, as the two-time Champions League-winning manager remains defiant in his tactics.

Guardiola whose City were bundled out of the Champions League by Monaco in the last 16 won the Bundesliga in each of his three seasons at Bayern Munich and only lost out to Real Madrid in LaLiga in one of four campaigns.

Such dominance is hard to find in England as City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United and Liverpool Guardiola s opponents at the Etihad St…

Spanish TV programme El Chiringuito de Jugones has suggested that Spanish defender Alvaro Arbeloa is eager to leave Real Madrid.

Having fallen behind Daniel Carvajal in the pecking order, the Spain international is no longer prepared to wait for his chance and he wants to quit los Leones before the transfer window closes on Sunday.

Arbeloa has also been disappointed by the treatment from the club fans and he looks set to leave Spain altogether.

England and Italy appear to be his most likely destinations, with Napoli boss Rafael Benitez hoping to get reunited with the player he coached at Liverpool.

Alvaro Arbeloa, 31, had began his career at Real Madrid and returned to Santigo Bernabeu in the summer of 2009 following spells with Deportivo La Coruna and L…

Barcelona are interesting in making a move to sign Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Christian Eriksen, according to Sky Sports.

The Denmark international, who has also been linked with fellow La Liga giants Real Madrid has been in superb form for Tottenham Hotspur over the past few seasons, once again helping them qualify for the Champions League last term.

Spanish champions Barca are looking for reinforcements this season and may use Brazil international Rafinha as a makeweight in any potential deal.

Eriksen moved to Spurs from Ajax in the summer of 2013 and he has since racked up two hundred and twenty-five appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring fifty-six goals while he was named their Player of the Year in both 2014 and 2017.

Internati…

New Zealand defender Tommy Smith has lauded Barcelona superstar Neymar as the best player he has ever faced – four days before a potential encounter with Cristiano Ronaldo at the Confederations Cup.

Smith faced Neymar at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and admitted he came off comfortably second best despite sensing the Brazil forward was stuck in second gear .

Smith – who runs a soccer school for children in the Ipswich area of England during school holidays – is appearing at a third major tournament for his national team, after also competing at the 2010 World Cup.

The All Whites centre-back is set to make his second start of the Confederations Cup against Mexico on Wednesday in Sochi, after Anthony Hudson s men went down 2-0 to hosts Russia in Saturday…

Jonny Evans is back at Manchester United and starting games under Erik ten Hag, but the Northern Ireland defender thought his career might have been coming to an end last season.

Evans, 35, made a surprise return to his boyhood club in the summer after his contract with relegated Leicester ended, initially on a short-term deal that allowed him to play during their pre-season campaign before he signed a one-year contract.

It came after an injury-ravaged campaign with the Foxes in which Evans was limited to just 14 club appearances, struggling to get over a persistent calf problem that left him wondering if his time was up.

It’s nearly time to go again against Slovenia

— Northern Ireland (@NorthernIreland)

Instead, he has started two of Unite…

As he heads towards the twilight years of his career, Jermain Defoe is targeting a return to the World Cup stage with England.

Having joined Bournemouth from Sunderland on a free transfer following the Black Cats relegation from the Premier League, Defoe is focusing on a place in Gareth Southgate s squad for Russia.

Defoe, who netted 15 times in the league last season, will be 35 by the time the tournament comes around and is relishing the opportunity for a second finals appearance, having featured in South Africa seven years ago.

It s only normal to have one eye on the World Cup, Defoe said.

Every English player will want to get in to that squad but it s based on merit, so you ll have to play well for your club.

I ll focus on doing that a…

Liverpool are working hard to secure the services of midfielder Joe Allen, .

The 24 year old was taken to Anfield by Brendan Rodgers in the summer of 2012, having played under the Northern Irishman for Swansea City for two years.

Since arriving on Merseyside, the Wales international has racked up eighty-seven appearances in all competitions, scoring three goals while he has been capped nineteen times for his country since making his debut in 2009.

Reds boss Rodgers must also decide on the futures of defensive duo Kolo Toure and Glen Johnson, with the latter continuously linked with a summer move overseas.

Liverpool drew 0-0 with Championship side Blackburn Rovers in the quarter finals of the FA Cup on Sunday afternoon, with the replay scheduled fo…