“Everyone here at Milan knows that my physical fitness is among the best in the squad; I always stand out in the tests.”
“A man without a family has nothing from life. I need my family in order to enjoy life when things are going well. And when things are not going well, they give me support.”
“With persistence, dedication, and especially with the hand of God, I came to be recognized as the best player in the world, world champion, among many other important titles in the history of football.”
“I will be busy playing, getting in shape, and learning English, and being in a smaller town will help me do that. And I want the challenge of trying to get Bolton into Europe for the first time in their history.”
“The pressure in Brazil is a little complicated, a little menacing.”
“If I could choose anywhere in Brazil, the club I’d play for is Palmeiras.”
“Zidane is a very great player, a very calm player.”
“Me, if I’m in a long-distance race, I have speed. In the sprint, I don’t have so much speed.”
“I don’t like Van Gaal, and I am sure he doesn’t like me, either.”
“As far as Sao Paulo are concerned, I’ve never played for a club as well-structured as this.”
“Of course I’m not superhuman: I’m going to get tired; that’s normal.”
“Sometimes you’ll get a player who’s marking you tightly, and he’ll even apologise and say, ‘My coach told me to stick close to you and mark you. I know you’re a great player.’ But I tell him it’s fine and to do what he has to do.”
“I take part in every training session, morning and afternoon, to make sure I’m fit enough.”
“I’m a quiet, shy person and not someone who likes the limelight.”
“I don’t want to rely on what people say about me to feel good; playing’s what I really enjoy.”
“When you get onto the ball, people think three or four times before deciding whether to try and tackle you. Your opponents respect you, and your markers give you a couple of metres of space.”
“I’m proud to have played 14 matches at the World Cup with the number ten shirt and to have scored eight goals.”
“I would like to play with Messi; it would be amazing. He is the best of the world, the one who makes more differences.”
“Ronaldo? He is the most dangerous player at Real. It is hard to stop him, like Messi, because both score a lot of goals, and you never know what is going to be the next thing they will invent for scoring.”
“Eden Hazard would be a perfect signing for Real Madrid, not only for his talents as a player but also as a leader.”
“Players that have had less minutes on the pitch compared to the usual starting XI will naturally concede more chances.”
“Barcelona is one of the best teams in the world. When you play in a team like this, you have more chance to show your performance.”
“Louis Van Gaal is a great coach. He has inspired a lot of players to give their best, shown them how to play.”
“Sometimes, a player and a coach can have a different opinion. In the end, the best interest of the end, the best interest of the club has to be kept in mind.”
“In football, the stronger team is the one which wins.”
“Everything is harder when you are a Nordestino. You have to work harder than anybody else because people will be judging you with much less mercy than the other players.”
“I am not ashamed to say I will speak up to defend myself.”
“I became famous when I scored that goal for Mogi Mirim direct from the kick-off against Noroeste. It was 18 April 1993, if I’m not mistaken. After that, my name was in all the papers.”
“My father never left my side; on the street, on the beach, he was always with me. He helped me on the road to becoming a professional, and now I play just for him.”
“When I was playing in Santa Cruz or Mogi Mirim, they told me I was not the best. Nobody believed in me. The others would always be the top stars. But I did not let that get me down.”
“When I came to Spain, people thought I would fly home again after the holidays, stay up all night celebrating, and would have no discipline. That may be true of other players, but it’s not my way.”
“I’m not a machine. I don’t see why people demand more of me than of other players.”
“I’ve played lots of games carrying an injury, but people don’t value what I do for Barcelona.”
“I will never forget the hunger I used to feel.”
“I am evangelical and believe much in God.”
“Neymar will leave Barca fans speechless. He could become an even better player than he was during the Confederations Cup with Brazil. He’ll easily adapt to the style of the team and will be very happy there.”
“Barcelona players know how to summon up Messi into the game, letting him rest in periods of the match and then using his services at vital moments when he shows up in the middle of the pitch to create his magical plays.”
“Things tend to get easier for Barcelona with Lionel Messi on the pitch.”
“If Milan agrees to let me go, and if there’s an agreement between the clubs, I would love to play for Madrid.”
“Winning the Olympic gold was amazing.”
“World Cup is the most important title I have won. There is no doubt about that.”
“Neymar is the most important player in our national team. His absence is felt when he doesn’t play. Same holds true for Barcelona. Such is his impact.”
“There was an offer from Tottenham when I was leaving Spain to go to Milan, and at the time, I chose to go to Milan because of their history and tradition in the world of football.”
“I know Tottenham are not among the biggest clubs in England, but they are considered a very good club to play for, a nice place to play.”
“I mean no offence, but we know that the French league is not the same as the Spanish or English league, where there’s more difficulty.”
“It’s impossible to describe Messi. I like him so much, and I always say I feel so sad because he never won the World Cup with Argentina. It is an award he deserves because a world-class player like him must be a world champion.”
“Coutinho is a great player, and I am sure he will stay at Barca for a long time.”
“I advise everyone with plans to visit Brazil for the Olympics in Rio – to stay home. You’ll be putting your life at risk here. This is without even speaking about the state of public hospitals and all the Brazilian political mess.”
“Paul Pogba is a very good player.”
“If Neymar doesn’t leave PSG, he will never win anything important. Especially the Champions League, which is the most important competition.”
“Playing in Barca is impressive: they’re in the Champions League; everyone talks about this team. You will not find another club like it in the world.”
“The number 10 player is the star of the team, and you have more responsibility.”
“Brazil needs a player like Neymar at his best on the pitch because Neymar on the pitch gives more confidence to the other players.”
“Nowadays, it’s hard to know if a player really deserves the money spent on him, because transfer values are high.”
“I don’t think about being a goalscorer. Basically, it doesn’t interest me. It’s nice to score, of course, but I don’t go round thinking about this.”
“It’s a bad feeling, losing a World Cup.”
“In Brazil, you know that only first place counts; in other countries, you might celebrate coming second, third, or fourth, but not in Brazil.”
“It’s in the knockout games that you discover who the great players really are.”
“For Brazil, the World Cup really starts in the knockout rounds.”
“It’s not easy to win a Cup. Brazil spent a long time, over 20 years, before winning it, so it’s not easy. The Cup is hard: it’s each 4 years.”
“At Milan, I’m giving everything I’ve got during training to earn myself a chance. I honestly don’t know why I can’t find space in the team, even on the bench.”
“I have decided that I want one or two seasons in England before the end of my career, and I want it to be at Liverpool.”
“I don’t want to leave Barcelona. I’m very happy here, and I want to stay on.”
“In soccer, you have to be sly.”
“At times, here at Milan, I have felt humiliated.”
“I don’t have many dreams to fulfil because I’ve won almost everything, but I was born a winner and want to achieve things with Olympiakos.”
“There were other propositions, even better financially, but I chose Olympiakos because of the Champions League.”
“Lots of great players, like Zidane and Figo, are about the same age as me.”
“Ronaldo is a top player, not only for his goals but also for his personality, as he hates to lose.”
“I was very excited about the possibility of playing for Spurs and in England. I would like to thank the club for their efforts in trying to sign me.”
“I do not want anyone in Bolton to think that, if I play there, I am doing it for the wrong reasons.”
“Milan, Inter, Roma, Juventus, Lazio – all of the big Italian clubs would be nice, but my son has a lot of work to do to show himself off and demonstrate his talent. Let’s take things slowly.”
“I’m very fond of Olympiakos, and I would be delighted to end my career in Piraeus.”
“I’m very satisfied with everything I have done with both Barcelona and Brazil.”
“When Brazil lose, someone has to be guilty, and it’s always Rivaldo. It’s different with Romario. He plays in Brazil, and they love him more. I’m treated like a foreign player.”
“Football is a game, and people have to be cunning.”
“I have already told Neymar he could be the best player in the world, but I think that if he stays at PSG, he will never achieve that.”
“Neymar will not return to Barcelona. It was a very difficult situation for him there.”
“If you ask me if I would like to see Isco in Barcelona, I would say yes.”
“I know nothing about meetings between clubs, and I don’t want to know anything about them.”
“It gives me great pleasure to see my name linked with clubs like Manchester United and Milan.”
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