“If you have a good squad, and the hunger is there to win something, you can do it.”
“I just try to help Tottenham as I can with the abilities I have.”
“Keeping mental freshness is sometimes difficult… but it is easier when you win.”
“A Champions League final is so rare to play.”
“When a club like Milan is interested, there are not many players who would say ‘no.’”
“I have one thing in mind: make the most out of football.”
“Since I was 15, I have not spent a Christmas or a New Year with my family.”
“I rarely see my family; my older brother, Peter, has twins – I was not there on the day of their birth or for any of their birthdays.”
“I’m enjoying the Premier League; I’m enjoying playing for Southampton – I love the club, and I love the supporters.”
“Nobody’s more important than the team.”
“Ajax is in every way a fantastic club.”
“I do not want to play in an English club in mid-table.”
“I’m a good marker, and I have a nice, long pass.”
“I really want to go to a club that really wants me. Southampton gave me that opportunity, and it paid off, I think.”
“At Ajax, I got an education in how to be confident on the ball, my technique, and then, at Atletico, I learned how to defend. It was about the details, the ruthlessness; be clinical in front of your own goal, win every duel, be clever. I learned so much and, defensively, I grew there so much.”
“Pochettino likes to play from the back, with the buildup, have the ball.”
“Always be focused and never let it go – that’s something I’ve learned so much. I learned that from Simeone.”
“It’s nice when you join another club that you know a couple of players.”
“It’s always been a dream to play at a club like Spurs.”
“How happy am I on a scale of one to 10? When you have a daughter, it’s 10 out of 10. It doesn’t matter what happens. The joy that I get from that, I try to give it to my football.”
“At Wembley, it’s difficult for the fans to come there and make it your home. Sometimes the stadium wasn’t full because the maximum on the capacity.”
“It’s difficult when you play the best teams in the world. You have to be strong as a team and defend and get clean sheets.”
“Simeone, De Boer, Van Basten – fantastic names to have worked with.”
“I have been very lucky to get the managers in the world.”
“That is good to have a manager who is very clear.”
“I am happy that I can go to Tottenham but want to thank Southampton and coach Ronald Koeman.”
“I’ve played with Jan Vertonghen for Ajax and the national team.”
“At Ajax, they are strict when it comes to using the ball as a defender.”
“I am very fortunate to have had the education at Ajax.”
“I am a defender, but I can play the ball. I have a good technique.”
“I feel I am a total defender.”
“At Ajax, they don’t worry about your age. If you’re good enough, you play.”
“I do not want to be 36 years old and can hardly walk.”
“Everyone was saying everywhere that I absolutely wanted to leave Tottenham. That’s not true.”
“I just try to help Tottenham as best I can with my qualities.”
“We have to work hard and not dream too much, because if we dream too much, we can fall down very quickly.”
“Who am I, of course, to judge them, but the Premier League must urgently think about a rest period in a European Championship or World Cup year.”
“Do I hope Batshuayi comes to Tottenham? Yes, of course. He has a lot of qualities.”
“If you have two weeks of no feeling in your leg, you start to wonder, ‘Will it ever return?’”
“Sometimes it’s all about confidence.”
“I signed for Tottenham for a reason, and I love to play here.”
“I’m grateful to play at Wembley – it is a very historical place – but it is not the same feeling as White Hart Lane.”
“We are never satisfied. We always try to improve.”
“I enjoyed English football from day one when I was with Southampton.”
“I won the title three times with Ajax; I played in the Champions League final and won the league title with Atletico. I have also played in the World Cup.”
“I defend my position. I am not Messi. I am not Ronaldo. I have something else. I am not the quickest, like Walcott. I have to be clever and read situations. If I didn’t have that, I wouldn’t be able to play Premier League. Everybody has a strength – this is mine.”
“You need to have dreams and goals in your life, but it’s not easy.”
“If you’re injured, it’s always mentally hard.”
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