Top 50 Toni Duggan Quotes

When I was 12, I was told I couldn’t play with the boys anymore, and I was devastated.

Clubs in other countries can step up, and we can kick on with women’s football even more.

We’re no longer scared of these nations – the Germany, U.S.A., and Frances.

It’s kind of nice, and rewarding, to have been on the journey from having to play football and work to being a professional.

Anyone who plays professional sport for a living is extremely lucky, and that’s my overriding feeling – I believe I have the best job in the world!

I think I need another trophy on my list, and I know that Barca’s ambition is to win the Champions League. This is my goal, too.

Luis Suarez’s always been a great role model for me. His style of play is sometimes like he’s playing with his mates in the street.

I’m always bragging, always laughing with my Spain team-mates at Barcelona, saying I’ll take 30 per cent possession and two goals – a win is a win. It’s football.

We played a different style under Mark Sampson, and all credit to him, because we did really well. It worked for us; we were quite direct, but we were successful at doing it.

It was tough, so hard; it really was horrible when I was growing up. I was called so many names, all sorts.

In England, you might have a possession game of six v. six, and it’s like headless chickens: people running around everywhere just trying to keep the ball and be strong in tackles. But in Spain, you always stay in your position. You’re still in your shape for every drill.

We’ve come a long way, but we’ve still got a long way to go, so we need to give our time to promote the game and be role models – to make the next generation see us and want to become us.

It was a dream come true to wear the famous colours of FC Barcelona.

When you sign a contract, that’s your deal. Everyone has different deals anyway.

I’d recommend for any little girl starting out to play with the boys as long as possible.

It’s not just about going to play football abroad: it’s a chance to live and work in a fantastic city like Barcelona.

For me, Barcelona are the biggest club in the world, and naturally, I wanted to come here.

In Spain, they’re never direct, and that frustrates me.

I think it is just something in my head that tells me to keep believing. Andy Spence, my manager at Everton, wrote me a little card before we came away and wrote at the bottom, ‘Just remember, it only takes a second to score a goal.’

I think you’ve seen the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City – the top clubs – all now tapping into the women’s market and developing that side of the club. It’s great for women’s football, and I look at how far we’ve come, and it’s great to have teams like this.

The competition for World Cup places is massive, and you can’t just rest on what you’ve done in the past or anything like that.

I think when I first went to Man City, they weren’t very professional. They were just starting out, and the men’s team had just invested a lot into women’s team.

The Cameroon fans always bring a good atmosphere.

If the goals were a bit bigger, maybe I’d score a few more goals!

In Spain, there’s a lot more publicity.

I can only thank Manchester City for everything they have done for me. What we have achieved in such a short space of time has been amazing.

I’ve been to Wembley before to watch Liverpool and Everton in the FA Cup semi-final in 2012. I saw the atmosphere there, and I didn’t ever think women’s football would be played in front of those crowds in my time.

When I was younger, I never thought I’d be brave enough to go and play abroad.

It was nice to have success in the SheBelieves Cup, but that just brings more pressure.

In the past, you might have said, ‘This player is technically not good – let’s prey on her.’ But now, the game is professional in most countries – you can’t just play on that.

If I wasn’t the sort of character that I am, if I was shy, I would have been intimidated by it. I stood up to it; I used to have arguments every day in the street. I was constantly told I wanted to be a boy. People used to say I was a boy.

It was a big step for me to take, going away from my family to go and play in a different culture, and I understand why people don’t do it.

At City, you’d see Pep chewing someone’s ear off about football and think, ‘Wow. I’d love to ask a question, but I’d probably be there for a week.’

I can remember, at the start of my career, there were reports of about 100 words here and there, and they would have got your name wrong or the name of the scorer wrong. It just wasn’t taken seriously at all.

At a club like Everton, we’ve always set our standards high.

I’ve learnt to be more patient, more comfortable on the ball, and the number of goals I’ve scored, I’m happy.

It was always our aim to raise the profile of the game, and I believe it’s only going to get bigger.

I like the way Luis Suarez plays. When I was growing up, I was a Liverpool fan, and I watched a lot of him when he came to Liverpool. He did a really good job.

From a personal point of view, you want to be playing in every game, but when you have to cope with the heat, the artificial surfaces, injuries, and tactics based around the coach’s selection, you can’t do it all.

There will have been girls my age who stopped playing because of the spiteful things that were said to them.

I believe the girls should be better paid but not the same as the men.

It would be a dream to go to my first World Cup.

In England, I think we get about 30,000 for maybe an FA Cup final, and there are lots of kids on the seats, which is nice – don’t get me wrong – but it’s a calm atmosphere.

It’s always something that’s played on my mind, being an Olympian, so hopefully we get there and do the job at the World Cup.

When we speak about equality, you want to be playing on the best pitches with the best facilities. You want to be able to have a hot shower in the changing room. These are the things you need to get right if you want to be more professional on the pitch.

I spent four years at Manchester City and won three trophies. It was a big wrench to leave.

Obviously, culturally, England’s style of play is a lot more direct and physical. In Spain, they’re a lot more patient, and they have the ball a lot more.

Since I’ve lived in Barcelona, I’ve played a bit of padel, so maybe I’ll become World Champion at that – joking, of course!

I’ve seen the facilities in Barcelona, and they are second to none. The women train with the men’s team, and the facilities are out of this world.

At Barcelona, all men’s and women’s teams have the same style and philosophy.