FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady expressed sympathy for New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning being removed from his starting spot as part of the team’s plan to evaluate other options.

“I have nothing but the most respect for him and everything he’s achieved and accomplished in his career,” Brady said in an interview with Westwood One Radio that will air before Thursday night’s game between the Cowboys and Redskins.

“Obviously, being on the other side of two of those Super Bowl losses to an Eli Manning-led team, I just have so much respect for his dependability, for his consistency, for his toughness. You know that’s really everything you want in an NFL player, and I think Eli has always provided that for the team. So I think it’s a pretty unfortunate situation.”

Asked how players across the NFL react when they hear news like this about Manning, Brady told host Jim Gray: “I think there’s always these types of situations. As a fan growing up, I mean, to see Joe Montana playing in another uniform, and again, to see Jerry Rice or Ronnie Lott [in another uniform], you know guys that I really looked up to and admired, there’s not many happy endings in sports, and you know that’s just the way it is.

“You always wish for everything to go like a fairy tale, but it doesn’t. Michael Jordan played for the Washington Wizards. I mean, who would have ever believed that? And that’s just pro sports.

The Giants (2-9) gave Manning the option to start the first half of their remaining games in order to keep his consecutive-games streak alive, but the QB didn’t want to go that route, in part because of the belief it would tarnish his 210-game streak.

In the interview with Westwood One, Brady was read a list of some of the quarterbacks now starting in the NFL and was asked if the league has a problem at the position.

“That’s a great question, and I would say not many people really knew who I was either when I started. A lot of these young players are trying to develop and grow. They may not be household names like myself or Aaron Rodgers or [Drew] Brees, but we’ve been around for a long time. So it takes time to develop at this position. I certainly wasn’t the player 17 years ago that I am today, but it’s taken a lot of practices and a lot of reps in order to develop. And that’s usually what it takes most quarterbacks: many years to master their craft.”

Thiago Alcantara’s chances of featuring in next summer’s World Cup could be in danger after the midfielder picked up a thigh injury during Bayern Munich’s 2-1 victory over Anderlecht on Wednesday.

Thiago was replaced by James Rodriguez after a seemingly innocuous challenge. However, the Spanish international was visibly upset and immediately asked to be substituted.

Sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic was the bearer of bad news when he revealed that Thiago could be out for several months when he was forced to limp off the pitch in the 44th minute.

Bayern manager Jupp Heynckes later confirmed that Thiago suffered a “heavy thigh strain” and is expected to miss an extended period of time.

Thiago will likely undergo scans to discover the severity of the injury before an announcement regarding his return is made.

If the seven-month prognosis is correct, Thiago might struggle to regain fitness in time to be selected by the Spanish national team ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, which kicks off in June.

Meanwhile, Arjen Robben was also forced out of the match with an injury, but Heynckes said that the knock is “not too serious.”

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Clay Matthews’ groin injury, which kept him out of last Sunday’s game at Pittsburgh, afforded him the opportunity to spend more time around Aaron Rodgers.

And not just for another State Farm commercial.

The Green Bay Packers linebacker got an up-close look at the quarterback’s rehab from his broken collarbone and came away with this revelation: “I think we probably should have kept him off IR.”

That doesn’t mean Rodgers’ collarbone would be healed in time for him to play any earlier than Week 15 at Carolina — the earliest game he could play in, based on the injured reserve rules that state a player must sit out at least eight games before a team uses one of its two designated-to-return spots.

“The way he’s coming along, some of the balls he’s throwing, accuracy-wise, everything a quarterback has to do is pretty remarkable,” Matthews added.

Rodgers, who on Sunday at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh threw in public for the first time since he broke his right clavicle on Oct. 15, could return to practice by the end of this week. But the Packers have not made an announcement about whether that will happen. The earliest he could practice would be Friday — six weeks from the date he went on IR — but the Packers don’t practice on Fridays, so any return wouldn’t happen until Saturday.

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Julio Cesar bid farewell to his Benfica teammates Tuesday after it was revealed the Brazilian goalkeeper and the club terminated his contract by mutual consent.

The 38-year-old could hardly control his emotions, giving each player and member from the coaching staff a hug.

Cesar is also expected to announce his retirement, but the former Inter Milan goalkeeper has yet to confirm plans to hang up his boots.

Shortly after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Cesar signed on with the Portuguese outfit and went on to make over 50 appearances.

However, his workload has been drastically reduced over the last two seasons. The emergence of Ederson, who has since been sold to Manchester City, forced him into a back-up role. Meanwhile, starting chances this term have predominantly gone to Bruno Varela while teenager Mile Svilar has been given the nod in net during a pair of Champions League encounters.