I love to set up my teammates. I am not here to be a star, to show off. I am here to play for the others, but if I have to try and clinch a game, then I will.

I am at one of the best clubs in the world and in the best league. And in my private life, everything is also going very well. At 25, I feel in the right place.

I'm not a top-five player yet. Maybe I'm close to it, but I still have to work on some aspects. You can only be part of that group if you are decisive in the top games.

I played without fear. I've done that since I first kicked a ball in my back garden as a five-year-old, whether it's been my first game, my 100th game, or my 500th game.

People were saying, 'He's worth £32m? He tried a back-heel and fell over!' Even I laughed. In my head, I said, 'OK, you've seen the bad side, now come see the good side'.

At 21, Real Madrid or Barcelona would have been more difficult for me. If I play well enough at Chelsea, I could win my place in the starting team, and my priority is to play.

Weight training and working on being explosive helped me gain a few yards of pace. Even when I was small, I was stocky. Even if people pushed me, I managed to stay on my feet.

I played with Michy for Belgium. He is still young; he can finish and is very good. He just needs to adapt to English football, and he will. He is intelligent and a good player.

I like to play as a No. 10. I think I have more freedom offensively. For Belgium, we have full backs who run hard and create a lot of space, which is good, and I like to play there.

I try to be this kind of player: the type who does something whenever he gets the ball. Sometimes in the past, I've gone through games where I've not touched the ball for 20 or 30 minutes.

The more you play against teams and defenders, the more you get to know them. You know if they are more nervous; you know, on the pitch, people are different. I try to adapt to their character.

If you told me to choose between family and football, then it is no choice. I take family, of course, like everyone. But I prefer to keep it private, and that's it. I just focus on the football.

I have always been small, so defenders have always been taller and tougher than me. So that's difficult for me; they foul me sometimes, but there you are - that's what the rules of the game are for.

That's my mentality. Just because somebody has fouled me, there is no reason for me to be nasty to him. I try to respect football as much as possible, and when someone is injured, you put the ball out.

I'd played some very good games, at Manchester United, at Tottenham Hotspur, but they'd lacked a goal. There've been times when I could have scored myself, but I've played a pass to a team-mate instead.

I don't need to speak about N'Golo; everyone knows about him. He's everywhere. I think, sometimes when I'm on the pitch, I see him twice. One on the left, one on the right. I think I'm playing with twins!

I don't want to say PSG is a step backwards, but It would be returning to something I already know. I'm always in for new challenges. When I will leave Chelsea one day, it would be to discover something new.

The directors told me they were going to recruit good players with whom I could play decent football. Marko Marin, Oscar and me, we like to have the ball at our feet. Juan Mata likes the ball; so does Ramires.

When I was back to 100 per cent fitness, I was able to show what I was capable of. I like to think I will bring a freshness into the Euros, and now that I am captain, I am going to do my best to take responsibility.

I've had more ups than downs in my career. All you can do is keep working. You still have to take enjoyment out of what you're doing, and things will turn, and my smile has always been there. In good moments and bad.

When I was small, I was the same as everyone else. I used to play in a small council estate nearby. But it's really my family who taught me. I started watching my dad play from the age of two. I wanted to be like him.

A couple of games, I played up front when Diego Costa was not there. We know to create movement - not even to get the ball, but create space for others. Now I understand football is not always with the ball at my feet.

My first trophy in France was the Young Player of the Year. I was 17. Chelsea is not just one player. It is not only me. We have signed a lot of players. Now we have some good signings like Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa.

In tactics and training, we do more with Conte. We work a lot of tactical positions, and we know exactly what we have to do on the pitch, where I have to go, and where the defenders have to go. We know exactly what to do.

Jose Mourinho and I get along well. I've lots of respect for him. He gives me a lot of confidence. After a bad game, he dares to say, 'We have played with 10 today,' but that's it. At moments like that, he leaves me alone.

It is a pleasure to play under Jose Mourinho, and everything is OK. I learn every day. He is a normal coach. He speaks a lot with the players. I like it when the manager speaks a lot with you because it gives you confidence.

With Lille, we could have gone to the South of France, and people wouldn't have recognised us. But at Chelsea, the players are at another level. Everything has changed - the language, the country - but it is up to me to adapt.

I try to play like I did when I was a young boy playing in my garden. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not so good, but I try to always make sure I give my best to help the team, even if I am not having the best game myself.

I like it when I am in the middle; I am closer to the ball. The manager wants me to pass, to make assists, create chances, and I do more because I think the position is more central, and I don't ask all the time for the ball at my feet.

For me, it's easier to play with my right foot. It's simple. If I go right, I see Diego and have different solutions: I go alone or pass to Diego, or the midfield can join in. If I go the other way, the cross with my left foot is not good.

The Champions League is the one thing missing from my career. When I look at the history of the competition and the people that have taken part, the top, top players have all won it. For many, it is why they have been regarded as top players.

I love cooking. There is nothing I like better than going home and cooking my family a nice meal. Anything with pasta! Pasta with butter! I have a good repertoire, and I can do quite a few different dishes. Sometimes they work out and sometimes not.

I have always thought if there is a game, and there have been a lot of fouls on me, then I have been playing well for the team, so that means we're having a good match. You can win a free-kick when there's a foul, and that's a chance to score a goal.

I've always been clear - I feel good at Chelsea. Every week, I repeat the same on PSG. It's a big team but an inferior league. I don't want to return to France, because I've won everything over there - the league title, cup, best player, best young player.

Out of all the clubs who were interested, I got the feeling that, deep down, Chelsea showed that they really wanted me. There were lots of reasons I came to Chelsea. They showed a real desire to get me to come here. I didn't have to think about it too much.

Share This Page