Finney made more than 400 league
appearances for Preston North End between
1946 and 1960 and won 76 caps for England.
He scored 30 goals for England, placing him
joint sixth on the all-time list with Alan
Shearer and Nat Lofthouse.
A Preston statement said: "Sir Tom was the
greatest player to ever play for Preston North
End and one of the all time greats for
England."
Preston are due to play Leyton Orient in
League One on Saturday at Deepdale.
The statement added: "Preston North End have
been informed of the extremely sad news of
the passing of Sir Tom Finney.
"The thoughts of everyone at the club, and
those connected with it, are with his family at
this time."
The Football Association tweeted: "The FA is
saddened to hear of the passing of Sir Tom
Finney, one of England's all-time greatest
players."
Manchester United manager David Moyes
knew Finney well during his time playing for,
and then managing Preston between 1993 and
2002, owning a framed picture of the former
England international at his home.
Speaking before Finney's death, Moyes said:
"Sir Tom was a great help in the early stages
of my management career.
"He had an incredible passion for the game
and someone I have great admiration for.
There is no doubt he is one of the greatest
players but to me he is also a great man."
BBC chief football correspondent Mike Ingham
told BBC Radio 5 live: "He was a slight figure
but incredibly brave. Former Preston team-
mate and Liverpool manager Bill Shankly
considered him to be the greatest player to
ever play the game.
"That's all you need to know."
Born in Preston, in the street next to the
club's Deepdale stadium, Finney was
nicknamed the Preston Plumber after
completing an apprenticeship with his family's
plumbing business.
He was linked with a move to Italian side
Palermo in 1952, but Preston chairman Nat
Buck quashed the deal, saying: "If tha' doesn't
play for us, tha' doesn't play for anybody."
He twice won the footballer of the year title,
in 1953-54 and 1956-57, and was twice a
runner-up in the league with North End, as
well as playing in the 1954 FA Cup final defeat
to West Brom.
In all, he scored 187 league goals for the club
but in 1961, a year after he retired, they were
relegated from the top flight and have not
returned since.
Finney maintained his links with Preston,
serving as the club's president. The stadium is
located on Sir Tom Finney Way, a statue stands
outside the ground, while inside, a stand was
renamed in his honour in 1995.
He was knighted in 1998.
Internationally, he played in the infamous 1-0
defeat by the United States at the 1950 World
Cup and went on to represent England at both
the 1954 and 1958 tournaments.
Former England and Blackpool defender
Jimmy Armfield told BBC Sport he was a
"great footballer and a great man. A fantastic
player. He had the ability to play right across
the forward line - left wing or right wing -
centre forward as well."
Fellow England legend Sir Stanley Matthews,
who died in 2000, once said of Finney: "To
dictate the pace and course of a game, a
player has to be blessed with awesome
qualities.
"Those who have accomplished it on a regular
basis can be counted on the fingers of one
hand - Pele, Maradona, Best, Di Stefano, and
Tom Finney."
Speaking in 2012, England's record goalscorer
Sir Bobby Charlton called Finney's
contribution to football "immeasurable".
Charlton told BBC Sport: "I used to look at
him and think, this is fantastic.
"Watching him, you knew full well that the
full-backs had had it. He was just too good for
them. Occasionally I had the pleasure to play
with him and it was the greatest pleasure
anyone could ever give me.
"He passed to me on my England debut and I
had never been so proud.
"I have so many happy memories of watching
him play. His contribution to football is
immeasurable."
Football League chairman Greg Clarke paid
tribute to Finney, saying: "He was quite
possibly the finest player to have ever played
in the Football League and was a true
gentleman.
"He was also the epitome of the one-club man
with few people ever having contributed as
much to a single team, their city or our
competition."
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