Barcelona's Brazilian midfielder Rivaldo was named FIFA's World Player of the Year during the gala evening of football's world governing body in Brussels last night.
Rivaldo (27), finished ahead of Manchester United's English international David Beckham and Fiorentina's Argentinian forward Gabriel Batistuta following the vote by 140 international coaches.
Rivaldo said afterwards: "I'm very proud to have won this award, particularly as I was in competition with two other great players (Beckham and Batistuta) which proves the high standard. For me, this is confirmation of my European Footballer of the Year award."
At the ceremony the former Manchester United star George Best was named in FIFA's Hall of Fame along with Brazilians Didi and Zico and former Dutch striker Marco van Basten.
Meanwhile, Best joined the critics of Beckham yesterday saying: "I don't think he's a great player - he can't kick with his left foot, he doesn't score many goals, he can't head a ball and he can't tackle. Apart from that he's all right."
Aston Villa manager John Gregory yesterday confirmed he has given both Leicester and Bradford permission to speak to out-of-favour striker Stan Collymore.
The 29-year-old has spent the last year in limbo, with his career on hold, although countless clubs have been linked with a potential move for the former England international.
Leicester boss Martin O'Neill and Bradford's Paul Jewell are the latest in a long line to show an interest in rescuing Collymore from his Villa Park hell.
Brazilian striker Romario scored his 700th official goal in Rio de Janeiro, on Sunday in a match between his team Vasco da Gama and Brazilian rivals Palmeiras in the Rio-Sao Paulo tournament.
Derby County manager Jim Smith's hopes of playing Georgi Kinkladze in next month's relegation battle with Sheffield Wednesday look set to be dashed. Midfielder Kinkladze is wanted by Georgia for an international tournament in Cyprus which clashes with the Premiership encounter, scheduled for February 5th.
Michael Owen will never fulfil his huge potential if he does not take time out now to recover properly from his hamstring problems, a leading physio warned yesterday. And as the striker admitted his fears about his continuing injury nightmare, both Owen and Liverpool have come under fire from the man in charge of the Professional Footballers' Association's medical centre, who suggested he is paying the price for being rushed back into action.
The 20-year-old looks set for another spell on the sidelines after feeling a twinge in his hamstring and going off 28 minutes into his side's goalless draw with Middlesbrough on Saturday.
Owen yesterday revealed: "Obviously I'm worried because I've suffered five hamstring injuries but they've not all been in the same area.
"I've learned now that if you play on when you feel a twinge it can quickly become a pull or a tear and I don't want what happened at Leeds last season to happen to me again."
However, Mike Garmston, the consultant physiotherapist for the British athletics team, explained: "A hamstring injury is not as bad as a joint injury, like a knee, but it's stop start, stop start and he'll never achieve his maximum."
Tottenham yesterday signed defender Anthony Gardner (19) from Port Vale in a deal which will cost Spurs up to £1 million.
Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke said yesterday he would miss only one Manchester United league game while on international duty.
United were worried that Yorke's national side Trinidad and Tobago would demand the forward remain with the national squad after the CONCACAF Gold Cup to play in a series of World Cup qualifiers.
But Yorke insisted he would miss only the match at Newcastle on February 12th and would be back for the trip to Wimbledon on February 26th.
