Finney was a match for Messi, says pal Docherty

David Beckham met Finney while on loan at Preston North End in 1995, before becoming England’s best-known footballer of recent times, and added his own tribute on Saturday night.

Having been on a Unicef trip to the Philippines, Beckham was late in learning the death of Finney, whom he called ‘‘an England great’’.

Beckham, who won 115 England caps, wrote on Facebook: ‘‘I just landed and heard the sad news that Sir Tom Finney had passed away.

‘‘I was lucky enough to have met him when I was on loan at Preston and he was not just an England great but a true gentleman.

My thoughts are with his family.’’ Finney, who died on Friday at the age of 91, enjoyed a glittering career for both club and country. He scored 210 goals in 473 games for Preston and 30 in 76 England appearances.

As a mark of respect, a minute’s silence was held before Preston’s home game with Leyton Orient on Saturday and Preston’s players all wore black armbands and shirts bearing the name Finney above their squad numbers.

The statue of Finney outside Deepdale - known as ’The Splash’ and inspired by the 1956 sports photograph of the year which features Finney beating two defenders at a waterlogged Stamford Bridge - was also covered with flowers, shirts and scarves left by fans.

Preston could not mark the occasion with a victory, being held 1-1 by their League One promotion rivals.

Finney spent his entire career at Preston after the club chairman refused to countenance a lucrative move to Palermo and according to former North End team-mate Tommy Docherty, he was as good as Barcelona superstar Messi.

Tributes to Sir Tom Finney as his son is presented with floral wreaths before the match during the Sky Bet League One match at Deepdale

Docherty, who played with Finney between 1949 and 1958, told the BBC: ‘‘He was the best player I’ve ever seen, alongside Lionel Messi.

‘‘I watch a lot of Barcelona and when I watch Messi, I close my eyes and can see Tom. I’m serious when I say that Messi is the Tom Finney of today.

‘‘Just like Finney, Messi is always getting fouled, but doesn’t complain and just gets up and gets on with the game.’’ Docherty added: ‘‘If Gareth Bale is worth £100million, then Sir Tom would be worth far in excess of that in today’s market.

In fact, there is not enough money in football to buy him.’’ Finney was renowned as one of the game’s great wingers and was famed for his double act in England colours with fellow wideman Sir Stanley Matthews.

Football Association chairman Greg Dyke said: ‘‘On behalf of the FA, I would like to send my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Sir Tom Finney.

‘‘He was one of English football’s all-time greats and will be much missed across the game. Sir Tom was a true oneclub man at Preston North End and a fantastic player for England. He will rightly be forever remembered at Deepdale and Wembley.’’ Finney will be forever linked with Preston, his hometown club, and Docherty recalled how gates at Deepdale would be lower if Finney was not playing.

‘‘If Tom was injured, they wouldn’t tell you the team at all,’’ Docherty said. ‘‘If he was injured, and that was rare, there would be 20,000 at the game instead of 42,000.’’ Finney was never booked or sent off during his career and his sportsmanship was hailed by former England captain Jimmy Armfield.

Armfield told BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘‘He, in my opinion, is one of the really great footballers that this country has produced. As much as anything else, and it’s hard to explain to many people today, but it was the way he played and the way he carried himself, his whole demeanour of life. Really, Preston will be a very sad place.’’ Preston announced the news of his death in a brief statement on Friday night.

All Preston North End players were named 'Finney' on Saturday

‘‘Sir Tom was the greatest player to ever play for Preston North End and one of the alltime greats for England,’’ the statement read. ’’The thoughts of everyone at the club, and those connected with it, are with his family at this time.’’