I think I felt ready and I really wanted to go to Real Madrid. Some are ready and others aren’t. I thought about it carefully and I made the right decision.
Who wouldn’t want to play for Real Madrid? Like Manchester, they are one of the best clubs in the world – and it would be a pleasure to play for them.
When I left Arsenal, it was because I had done everything there and a big club like Real Madrid wanted me and even David Beckham couldn’t turn them down.
Playing for Real Madrid is my life’s dream. It’d be a privilege to play alongside so many stars. If it happened, I’d enjoy it to the max.
When I left Porto, I knew that I wanted to return to Real Madrid and play.
I am absolutely happy to train Real Madrid. I have a wonderful challenge.
In Europe, I always say that Barcelona and Real Madrid are the ones to look out for.
I work hard every day to earn more minutes, but I am aware of where I am. I am at the best club in the world, and I am happy at Real Madrid.
When there is a Brazilian who is lighting things up, he is at Real Madrid before you know it!
My first option is always to triumph at Real Madrid. After that, you never know what can happen.
I have huge respect for Porto, a great club that’s always in the hunt for titles, but they aren’t Real Madrid, one of the biggest clubs in the world.
I hope things go well with Zidane, the same as I would have said about Benitez. Because what we all want is for Real Madrid to win trophies.
At Real Madrid, I learned a will to win.
Real Madrid aspires to win everything, and I feel part of the family at this club.
Porto prepared me really well and this didn’t go unnoticed in Spain, as before I went to Real Madrid the club were known as a graveyard for centre-backs. They had amazing centre-backs that had failed there.
Show me a team of the stature of Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid, or Barcelona who is not obsessed with winning the Champions League. If they are not, I’d be surprised why they play in it.
For any footballer who plays for Real Madrid in the modern era, the prospect of leaving the club must feel like a step down no matter where they go – but it does not have to be like that.
In 2009, I accepted the proposal of Real Madrid, but I was completely destroyed there because I could not give what I had given Milan. I was completely lost.
Real Madrid are one of the main teams in Europe. They are a team which has won the Champions League the most times, a very good team, and known throughout the whole world as well.
I never wanted to leave Real Madrid.
Before Bolton I played for Real Madrid and I was getting involved in the first-team training since I was 16 and then I played with the first team at 18.
It’s really important that when you come to a club, you know the history. My dream was always Real Madrid or Barcelona, but for the fans of Tottenham, the club is the biggest in the world. So that’s how I treated it.
With what I’ve already achieved in my career – winning trophies and playing in finals, important matches against Real Madrid and Barcelona, winning the Europa League and the Super Cup, and in the Champions League – sometimes you’ve earned the right to say something.
Don’t ask me about Real Madrid – it’s just the past.
It would be absolutely fantastic to play at Real Madrid together with my friend Royston Drenthe.
I started at Benfica: not as big but one of the biggest clubs in Portugal. I’ve played for Real Madrid. Then I moved to Manchester United, from a giant to another giant.
When I arrived, I defended Real Madrid tooth and nail.
When I was sold from Real Madrid to Inter, I would have preferred to have remained in Spain.
You cannot have the career I’m having, staying at Real Madrid for seven years, without character.
Real Madrid are favourites in every championship and in every game, but we will stay humble in order to earn a victory.
For sure I want to stay at Real Madrid.
When I arrived, Madrid taught me to fight until the end. You win the finals. I’ve learned a lot with Real Madrid about this.
Cristiano left the bar very high at Real Madrid. You cannot cover the sun with a finger.
I want to keep winning titles and do that with Real Madrid.
All I dreamed of when I became a footballer was to play for a club as big as Real Madrid. It’s maybe the most famous and best club in the history of football.
I demand Casemiro play the same role he plays at his club, Real Madrid.
Nobody thought Real Madrid could win three Champions Leagues on the trot, and they’ve done it.
When I signed for Real Madrid, it was like a dream.
I have a great deal of respect for other clubs and admire the good football they play, but ultimately, Real Madrid are Real Madrid.
I came to Manchester City because I see them growing and getting bigger. Can they be as big as Real Madrid? Yes, I hope so.
There were a lot of clubs interested in me, but United is the only club that I would have left Real Madrid for.
Al Ain are among the absolute best in Asia. When explaining their place in football in this part of the world, they are compared with Barcelona or Real Madrid.
I’ve been working since I was 17, when I started playing for Fluminense, which helped me a lot, I grew a lot there and even more at Real Madrid.
It was my dream come true when I signed for Real Madrid. I want to stay here for as many years as possible and, if it’s possible, finish my career here.
If I receive a phone call from Real Madrid, I won’t answer.
It was always my dream to play for Real Madrid, and I’m going to go on living it because I’m staying.
The fact that I can play for Real Madrid means that I am always ready, knowing that we need to win.
To play at Real Madrid, it is not enough to just have football quality. You must be mentally strong.
People say I should go to Real Madrid or Barcelona, but my team is Las Palmas.
At Real Madrid, there will always be people who score goals. They are a team and not a single player, no matter how much one appears more than another.
I do not think my career is over after being at Real Madrid.
My plan is to retire at Real Madrid.
Football has been my life and Real Madrid my home and together we have lived unique moments.
Playing at Real Madrid is something special in itself, but winning trophies with Real Madrid is even more thrilling.
Real Madrid go for everything right from the start of the season. They always fight for the three competitions.
I had dreamt of playing for Arsenal and Real Madrid, and those dreams came true. Maybe I can dream of winning the Ballon d’Or, and that can come true as well.
I want to stay at Real Madrid for a long time.
Real Madrid is such an extraordinary club in terms of size and the constant politics that, perhaps, the best results are achieved by those with an ability to remove themselves from the spotlight to concentrate on their work.
At Real Madrid, everything gets taken to extremes, as much for the good things as the bad things, so you have to adapt to the way that the press and the fans live through different situations.
I had no interest in continuing with Real Madrid in the way that we were working.
At Real Madrid, we have many good players that the team can learn from.
My challenge is to win titles and trophies with Real Madrid.
The demands at Real Madrid are huge. The expectations are enormous. Sometimes, it is good. When you’re winning, it’s an amazing place and the fans are happy.
Dortmund is a fantastic club, critical for my career. But my Spanish grandfather on my mother’s side always wished that I play in Spain. And if, then at Real Madrid.
My biggest aim of all is to win trophies with Real Madrid.
I still have a thorn in my side at not having played for Real Madrid or Barcelona, because playing there is a dream for every player. But I consider myself very satisfied to have played for the best teams in Italy.
When you’re playing for Real Madrid, even when you’re playing well, you’re under scrutiny.
When I was younger, I had some close friends who always loved European football, and Real Madrid at that time were the dominant force. I remember family holidays when we used to go to Spain, and we’d bring back replica shirts of Real Madrid and pretend to be the players when we played in the park.
I don’t have regrets about leaving Real Madrid.
Defending for a team as offensive as Real Madrid isn’t that easy.
Ancelotti speaks a lot with his players, creates a very close-knit atmosphere, and the Real Madrid dressing room was very sad when he left.
I had a wonderful time in Spain. I had the pleasure of being a league champion twice in a row and playing for a big club like Real Madrid, which gave me a higher profile.
I think Pique, apart from the odd personal remark, has never had a bad opinion about any of my teammates at Real Madrid, but obviously, when he attacks Real Madrid, our club, and our institution, it kind of tarnishes all of the rest of what he says.
I never said I wanted to leave Real Madrid. I never wanted that, but you have to move when they don’t want you.
People might talk more about Real Madrid and Barcelona than about Atletico, but what matters to me is what happens on the pitch. We compete with them year after year. I am not interested about the club’s reputation.
