Racism springs from ignorance.

For me, my mother is everything.

You speak bad of me, I score goals.

Yes, I think I am a genius, but not a rebel.

Rooney's good but not the best in Manchester.

Jumps like a black man and grabs coins like a Jew.

I don't like golf. It's not for me, it's too quiet.

Mourinho is the best coach in the history of football.

I believe I am more intelligent than the average person.

I don't like journalists and I hardly ever talk to them.

My public image is absolutely not a fair reflection of who I am.

I have my life, my world. I do what I want, without annoying anyone.

I don't follow politics; it doesn't interest me. So why should I vote?

To play in atmospheres that are intense is when I play my best football.

I am different - if you can find another like me, then I will buy you dinner!

People who know me, love me. People who don't know me love me too... or they hate me.

I know I have a responsibility as a role model to children and I try to fulfill that.

There are few people with such talent, so there are few able to judge what I am doing.

There's only one that is a little stronger than me: Messi. All the others are behind me.

When I score I don't celebrate, its my job, does a postman celebrate when he delivers post?

When I lose my temper it's because I decide to. If I do something it's because I want to do it.

I don't celebrate because I'm only doing my job. When a postman delivers letters, does he celebrate?

Mancini is lucky. He has an owner [Sheikh Mansour] who speaks little and asks only: "What do you need?"

They say that abandonment is a wound that never heals. I say only that an abandoned child never forgets.

I would be ready to become a dad if I was with the right person. I'd like a boy, though. Because they're in charge.

It surprises me how much children like me, you know? If they look at me as an example, I have a big responsibility.

I want to be the strongest player in the world and score a lot of goals. To do that, I have to improve in every area.

When I wasn't famous, I had a lot of friends, almost all of them Italian. The racism only started when I started to play football.

When people talk about my business, my life, I'm really private. Maybe someone thinks I'm arrogant or something, but it's just me.

Many stories are invented about me - too many stories; almost everyone uses me, and I'd say about 0.01 percent of the gossip is true.

I am proud to be Italian because I was born in Italy, I grew up in Italy, I went to school in Italy and I have worked in Italy. I'm Italian.

I sent my Christmas wishes to him, but he didn't answer. He's the world's best coach, but as a man he still has to learn manners and respect.

I will not accept racism at all. It's unacceptable. If someone throws a banana at me in the street, I will go to jail, because I will kill them.

Occasionally, you feel like the only person able to win the match. So you take all the responsibility, you do too much, and you do something bad.

When I decide to score, I score. I know I am strong, but I believe it is not enough yet. I can kick fine, dribble very well, but I still have to improve.

Inside me I'm Ghanaian, and I'm proud to be African. But of course I'm Italian. I was born in Italy. I've never been to Africa in my life, but I will go one day.

America is a great country. I've been in the south, in the center and in the north. I like it. Americans are very good people. There's just too much air-conditioning.

You can't delete racism. It's like a cigarette. You can't stop smoking if you don't want to, and you can't stop racism if people don't want to. But I'll do everything I can to help.

Racist people are few, in the minority. But you can do nothing to change them. You can talk, you can do what you want, but you can't do anything because they are just stupid people.

Is instinct in the head or in the heart? Off the field, I follow my good instincts which steer me in the right direction. Sometimes on the field my head leads me astray. That's what I believe.

Manchester City, the club and the fans, they were amazing. But I'm sorry, the city wasn't that nice. I was all the time at home, and I didn't enjoy it. It was raining all the time. I was a little bit upset.

If I go out in the street and one guy gets a picture, then someone calls the press to say Mario was there. The day after in the press, it's, 'Mario was there'. That's normal, I just walk in town like a normal guy.

I don't like to talk much, even when people speak bad about me. Inside me, I say, 'Why do they have to think of me that way?' But I know how I am. My objective is not that people follow me, but I'm happy that they do.

The talent God gave me is beautiful and wonderful, but it is difficult because you are always facing other people keen to judge you. There are few people with such talent, so there are few able to judge what I am doing.

Sacrifice counts for a lot in sport. From a young age, I couldn't do the normal things that the boys of my age get to do. Maybe you have a nice car or a nice house, but at times you just want to be a normal guy and you can't.

Sometimes in football you deserve to win but lose. Other times you deserve to lose or draw but you win. That is the game, and it's why I've always said you should never try to predict anything in football, especially in Europe.

Sometimes I dream to be alone and that nobody would talk to me. But I understand that football is really important and that everybody watches it. When you're famous, you have to do photos or autographs, especially for the kids.

I turn to someone, I'm not sure, to God I think, but I never ask for anything. I would never pray to win a title; it makes no sense. I've never understood those who pray before a match. I simply give thanks for what I have received.

I can win the Ballon d'Or, but only if Messi's level drops a bit. It will be very complicated to do so if he keeps up his current form. I really believe I can win the award, but there's not much I can do if Messi maintains this level.

What is important for me is that the people who know me for real know Mario how he really is. People who don't know me, they read newspapers and they watch TV. TV is made to give a lot of opinions... so I can't show the real Mario to everybody.

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