There’s a big difference between being a footballer and being a coach.
Every footballer has his ups and downs.
It would not be honest if I did a review, because I’ve worked with Leo Messi, whom I consider the best player I’ve seen. I cannot comment or compare with Cristiano Ronaldo because I have not worked with him. That is not to say that I do not have as much respect for Cristiano as a footballer.
You have got to get to know people, and moving down to Liverpool from the North East was a huge change for me. But, at the same time, you have just got to get on with it, and that is part and parcel of being a footballer.
I wouldn’t want to go out six nights a week and watch somebody’s reserves playing to check out a footballer to see if we’re going to buy him.
I always wanted kids I could take to work, and for them to experience the things I experience. So, having three boys as a footballer was a dream.
When I was younger, I had a fear of being judged as a footballer, and my worst fear was feeling like I didn’t belong at the level of football I was playing.
You question yourself all the time as a footballer. You have to focus on the positives.
When you become a professional footballer, there’s no written contract that says you have to strive to play first-team football.
Everybody knows that Coutinho is a great footballer – here in England, they call him ‘The Magician.’ He made his decision to join Barcelona, but every time we meet and play for the Selecao, we have a good chat and maintain that friendship. He is an exceptional guy and one of the best friends football has given me.
Being outside on the grass is the easy, enjoyable part of being a footballer.
When I retired in 2006, I stayed for a further two years in England. I stayed because I wanted to be in England without being a footballer, without the rhythm. I wanted to enjoy the city.
My father was a footballer, and he has inspired me.
If I hadn’t wanted to become a footballer, Dad wouldn’t have made me do it.
I’m a professional footballer and, to me, playing regularly is the most important thing; money is secondary.
At the end of the day, I’m a footballer who has played at some of the biggest football clubs in the world and played with some of the best players in the world.
The way I look at it, a footballer wouldn’t play in flip-flops or dip their feet in acid and then expect to get to David Beckham’s level. My voice is my living, so I’ll be looking after it.
A World Cup in Brazil is the greatest event in which a footballer can play.
So being unable to play for so long isn’t where you want to be as a footballer. And if you are not playing for long periods of time, your career is only going to go one way.
It’s why you become a footballer, so you can play against the best in the Champions League.
If I’d had the choice when I was 14, and someone had said to me, ‘You can either be a footballer or an actor,’ I’d have said: ‘Well, can’t I be a footballing actor?’
When you are a footballer, you eat, sleep, and breathe football. If I have a bad training session, I can go home and do whatever I want, but you still feel an emptiness.
How does it feel? Really, I don’t know because I never try to feel more or less than any player in Leverkusen or Mexico. I don’t feel like I’m more famous than other players; I’m just one more footballer who wants to achieve their dreams and to try to help their team as much as they can to do that.
If I wasn’t a footballer, I definitely would have been a chauffer because that is my father’s profession and he’s a person I aspire to and admire. I wanted to follow in his footsteps as a man.
It doesn’t matter if a footballer is earning £100,000 a week or £1,000 a week the first thing you need to do is work hard for your team.
Before leaving, I was seen as a good player, perhaps as a very good player, but as one of the many players that Bayern had. But if you play as a Real footballer, you get even more attention. Maybe that part from the fans I do not like so much.
I like to exchange ideas because we all want to win. If a footballer doesn’t agree, then you try and have a chat to work things out.
There is nothing worse than not being involved. You are sitting there thinking, ‘What exactly am I? A footballer who is not playing football?’ You feel a bit worthless sitting in the stands, watching all the time.
If people want to say I seem too nice to be a footballer, that’s good. It’s just the way I am.
Everybody has struggles in life, and mine was to come out of a tough area in Berlin. It helped me a lot on my way to becoming a professional footballer, to being an idol and a good role model.
You know a dog loves you for who you are; they don’t know if you’re a soccer player or not. Sometimes people treat you good because you’re a footballer or because you’re famous, but a dog doesn’t know it.
Playing in a team like Barca, you always feel pressure. The demand is to win everything, but this is good for you as a footballer: it makes you play better.
Mohamed Salah is the best footballer in the world and an overall perfect person.
As a kid, you obviously dream of being a professional footballer. I would watch players like Ronaldo of Brazil and pretend to be him in the playground. But I don’t think about trying to become one of the best in the world or anything like that. I just play football.
The disappointment of getting relegated from the Premier League is an awful time for anybody as a footballer.
He was always brilliant, but when Pep Guardiola started to use him as a ‘false’ No. 9, he got even better. It’s impossible to be more of a footballer than Messi.
If you want to make your mark as a footballer, you think England, Germany, Italy, Spain. Maybe France or Holland. But not China, not the Middle East.
As a footballer, you still have to dream.
I’ll relish playing at Wembley in a major cup final. It’s a great achievement for me, and it’s why I became a footballer, because I want to win medals.
I’m quite unfit. It’s the motivation that’s the problem, I need a goal. When I was a professional footballer I trained every day because I had to.
In any footballer’s head there comes a point where he recognises that he needs to be playing more games.
I am a lucky man because when I was young, I wanted to be a footballer. Suddenly, around 30 years old, I thought, ‘I want to try to be a manager because it’s different.’
The teacher would say, ‘Not everybody makes it as a footballer, so what do you want to be?’ I’d say, ‘A footballer.’ The teacher would say, ‘But not everybody makes it. So what do you want to be?’ I’d say, ‘A footballer.’ Every year that happened! Nothing was going to get in the way of me being a footballer.
Luck – it’s key for every footballer’s career. I have been incredibly lucky during my career and in my life.
They’re great memories, not just as a footballer but as a person growing up – it sounds daft, but to come away from Liverpool to play the first-team football I needed. It’s a fantastic place, a huge football club and they helped me a lot. I’m grateful for coming through there.
But the concept that it’s important to understand the individual and the person, as well as the footballer, is a helpful concept, regardless of the competition.
There is pressure every day as a footballer.
I feel very strong as an individual, but as a famous footballer I know I am prone to certain things. All the media have a continuous interest for me. It varies from once a year to every day interest.
I struggle to see myself as Tyrone Mings the Ipswich footballer. I’m just Tyrone from Chippenham.
I appreciate every guy, whether he is a footballer or a cook.
Every footballer wants to take part in a World Cup with his country.
I always looked up to Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo because he was for me the ideal footballer. He was at United, he had an unbelievable shot, his skills, he was fast, so the complete player. I always try to do the same things on the pitch like him.
Every footballer plays with the hope that people love to watch you. But, for me, there is no sympathy or interest. I don’t seem to have any charm for fans.
I grew up in a place where there weren’t many opportunities if you didn’t become a footballer.
Yes, I went through overt racism as a footballer in the 80s and early 90s but that was, or is, nothing compared to what the average black person in the inner cities of England goes through every day.
It’s not easy to be a footballer.
Pulling on your country’s shirt is the greatest honour a footballer can have. It’s what I always dreamed of as a kid and I get a buzz every time.
I’m very proud of ‘Gavin and Stacey,’ but I think I have to write something else even to start to consider myself a writer. Just because you do something once, it doesn’t mean that’s who you are. I played football last night; it doesn’t mean I’m a footballer.
Being confident is a really important part of being a footballer. I know my own ability and what I can achieve.
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 only ever wanted to be a footballer.
When you are a player, a footballer, or a manager of a great club like Chelsea, you must play to win. To win. To win the title. Or to fight and, at the end, to compete with the other teams to win the title and reach your targets.
