Former Brazil World Cup captain Socrates, regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, has died in hospital at the age of 57.
Socrates had been in the Albert Einstein Israeli Hospital in Sao Paulo since Thursday when he was interned with food poisoning which developed into septic shock and had been on a life support machine.
It was the third time Socrates has been taken to hospital since August when he spent nine days there due to a digestive haemorrhage caused by excessive drinking.
Socrates, who played for Brazil at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, spent another 17 days in the hospital in September with liver trouble and had been recommended a transplant.
A qualified doctor whose full name was Socrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira, he sprung to fame at Corinthians in the early 1980s.
The bearded, lanky Socrates, a leading player of his generation along with fellow Brazil midfielder Zico, he also played in Italy for Fiorentina.
Socrates was a cultured midfielder who won 60 caps for the Brazil national side, scoring 22 goals.
He captained the Selecao at the 1982 World Cup and also played at the 1986 tournament in Mexico, although never managed to win football's biggest prize.
His club career included spells at Botafogo, Corinthians, Fiorentina, Flamengo and Santos, while in 2004 he famously came out of retirement at the age of 50 to make a one-off substitute appearance for English lower-league side Garforth Town.
Source: telegraph.co.uk