Rio Ferdinand's sister Sian has expressed gratitude to fans on behalf of her family for their "support" following the death of the footballer's wife Rebecca Ellison.

The Queens Park Rangers defender, who also spent 12 years playing for Manchester United, confirmed on Saturday that his wife had died following a short battle with cancer.

An outpouring of condolences came from fans and figures within football, while supporters at Old Trafford did a round of applause in the fifth minute of United's 1-0 defeat to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

Leroy Fer also displayed a message of support to Ferdinand's family on his T-shirt after scoring in QPR's eventual 2-1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.

Over the weekend, Ferdinand's sibling Sian took to Twitter to write: "Just want to say a huge Thankyou for the love and support our family has received. It hasn't gone unnoticed & we appreciate it all."

Ellison was the mother to Ferdinand's three children - Lorenz, nine, Tate, six, and four-year-old Tia.