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When Atletico wanted to sell me, I was told that I earned too much money and they wanted me off the wage bill. I liked that honesty.
I have never been at a club where the players talked so much about a previous manager as they did about Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan.
I was very young at Manchester United, and I feel that I was just starting to find my feet when I was sold and Rooney was brought in.
It was a privilege to enjoy the national team and be part of a group that gave so much to our country, wear the shirt with great people.
Some players don't like to speak to the media or prefer to talk on live television so people can hear for themselves what is said, in real time.
I went to Japan to experience a new culture, and I would recommend that any footballer does that. But the main reason I went was to play football.
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Ronaldo can score every type of goal. He can use both feet, his head, take free kicks, finish from close range or outside the box. He has everything.
Uruguay is a small country but with a lot of football history. We've won so many things, and so the people are always expecting us to do good things.
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.
Sometimes, in the last minute, against big teams... you never expect you have the chance to win, but there is that 'garra' that everyone talks about.
Atletico players have always been characterised by this kind of player in attack like Fernando Torres, Sergio Aguero, Diego Costa, and Radamel Falcao.
I've played as a lone striker and enjoyed it, especially if you have good supporting players around you. But a full season by myself? That would be hard.
In England, the club presidents do not seek publicity or have a high profile. In Spain, they like to be considered the most important person at the club.
Football is a really simple game, and the most important thing, in any formation, is that the players do their jobs, not the formation which they play in.
The Japanese people and their country left a huge impression on my wife and I, and we found it difficult to say goodbye before moving back to South America.
Courtois was rated highly enough by Chelsea to go back and replace Petr Cech, one of the best goalkeepers of modern times. He has lived up to his reputation.
Japan is a country that works well. The trains, buses, and planes stick to their timetables. When you try to change the schedule of anything, it can confuse.
There are many great players to have won the adidas Golden Ball Award, and it is a great privilege to receive this award and be part of this select group of players.
Systems, coaches, and directors or club presidents do not win games - players do, they are the only people who can make a significant difference once that game starts.
I found it difficult when I first started to travel around the world as a footballer. Hotels go from places you are excited to stay in to places you get tired of pretty quickly.
As a player, if a club is desperate to sign you, then you can benefit from that. Desperate clubs are prepared to pay more money; they are prepared to act decisively and play you.
I had wanted to play for Penarol since I was a boy. When I was young, I would go to their training ground, but at 18, I left Uruguay for Argentina, and my professional career started.
As a footballer, I have always found it better not to be too emotional. Better to be cool, consistent, clinical. Celebrate goals, yes, but keep your feelings for those you trust most.
In the World Cup finals, you're unlikely to meet a continental rival. In Copa America, you know they are just around the corner and that you will have to beat them to win the competition.
We're a small country, and if you look at it that way, then we're at a disadvantage, though I know that most of the players who know or have come up against Uruguayans prefer to avoid us.
There were no Manchester United fans protesting when I left their club in 2005. I wasn't one of their most important players, so I moved on, worked really hard, got my breaks, and my career took off.
Italy won the world title in 2006 and went out in the group phase in 2010 and 2014. They didn't make it beyond the first round. You don't win things because of your history, the shirt, or the names on the teamsheet.
The passionate fans, pumped full of adrenalin, think they own their club and, by extension, the players because they play for their club. They don't. It is the club who 'own' the player, and only while he is under contract.
'Seba' Veron was one of the best players I shared a dressing room with. Not only was he technically gifted and could pass the ball accurately over distance, not only could he anticipate where players would run, but he also ran himself.
I have played international games two days after travelling around the world. Your body clock is all over the place, and you are waking up at 4 AM. But once a game starts, then your adrenalin kicks in, and you seem to forget the tiredness.
Cristiano Ronaldo joined United a year after me. He was ultra-confident, with the talent to back it up. He was dedicated, too, and practised as hard as anyone after training. You could tell that he wanted to be a great player, the greatest.
The Italian Fabio Cannavaro, who was with Real Madrid when I played against him several times, was the best player in the world in 2006. He wasn't tall, but very quick and strong. He always knew his opponents well, as if he'd researched them.
Strikers love to play with other strikers, as I did with Sergio Aguero, Luis Suarez, and Edinson Cavani. You can make the most of your individual talents for the good of the team. If you can strike up a good partnership with another player, it's like striking gold.
I am not saying that I am at the same level as Messi or Ronaldo. They are the best two players in the world, but I am very proud that I managed to finish above them in the goalscoring charts, especially as I was playing for Atletico Madrid, not Barcelona or Real Madrid.
Retiring from international football was a personal decision, and I was very sure about what I was doing. I played for my country for more than ten years, and there were highs and lows. It was a fantastic experience, though, and the most wonderful thing is that it ended well.
The best strikers make you sit up and take notice because every time they get the ball, you think that something amazing could happen. Of course they'll score goals, but they'll have something in their game which makes you think, 'Wow, he can win this game by doing something magical.'
I'd never thought of going to Japan, but the J-League came to me, and I could see that they wanted me to be part of the project. In the beginning, they said, 'We have two or three teams for you, although we cannot say which ones at the moment, but we want you as a player, as everything.'
My best years were 2010 and 2011, and the 2010 World Cup was the most incredible experience. Our tiny nation reached the semi-finals, I finished joint-top scorer in South Africa, and my goal against Germany was voted the best of the tournament. I was also named the best player of that World Cup.
Nobody comes back from a serious injury and is the same after a month or even three months. You should play in the reserves; you get your muscle back and regain your match rhythm. Psychologically, you need to build your confidence back up and you hope there are no complications. Even in a settled side, it's hard.
Football has changed, and so has the relationship between the players on the pitch. Where once some players would try everything to distract opponents, now it's harder. There are TV cameras everywhere, which have much higher quality images than before. There are lip readers in studios working out what you are saying to each other.