Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Footballers need to be aware kids look up to them.
If you don't score, what happens? You sulk on the bus the whole way back.
I just don't like losing, I don't like losing, full stop. Even if it's at FIFA.
Performing for my dad does drive me on. Especially in big games, massive games.
England is still a place where a naughty boy who comes from nothing can live his dream.
I still remember not scoring against United. You always want to score in the big games.
I am always analysing myself; I am always critical of myself and always trying to improve.
I just want to be seen as a kid who loves to play football and to do the best for the team.
I would never want the fans to think bad of me, to think I just want as much money for myself.
I'm trying to make the box, trying to be more ruthless, more clinical, and trying to decide games.
Something good happens or something bad, I think, 'What can I do better? What didn't I do this year?'
I'm still short now, but when I was 14, I was like a pencil. You had to be aggressive and hold your own.
It's never been about money. I talk about winning trophies throughout my career. That's all I talk about.
Sometimes you can get sloppy and control the ball right at your feet, and that gives the defenders a chance.
A better goals-to-game ratio is the aim for me now. If you score goals, you will get people talking about you.
When I used to dribble, I'd be on the wing, and I'd control it with the outside of my foot - it slows the ball down.
Growing up, you watch players like Ronaldinho playing in World Cups, doing the business, and you idolise these people.
I don't talk about how many cars I'm going to drive, how many houses I've got. I just purely want to be the best I can be.
I'm a person, when something's not going right, I'm looking at myself and seeing how I can improve and what I can do better.
I don't want to be perceived as the money-grabbing 20-year-old; I just want to be perceived as the kid who loves to play football.
I've got a massive opportunity here with a great bunch of players to represent England at a World Cup; that's my biggest focus now.
I was looking at the sights, thinking, 'I used to play there a couple of years back, and now I'm on the coach with the England team.'
I try to get better in every aspect of my life, not just on the football field. I am competitive, and I just want to always get better.
It's always an honor to put on an England shirt, but this one is different - it makes you really feel fast; plus, it's light and fits nicely.
Before I went to Liverpool, I was a striker and then sometimes a No. 8 or No. 10, and my thing was shooting, finishing, and long-distance shots.
If you've got a fast and strong defender, on the left, I feel like I can give him trouble going down the line, coming inside, or making runs in behind.
I just want to take the time to think about what I've achieved in my career so far, where I need to go, and what I need to do to get better as a player.
That's the one thing I don't like hearing, when someone says, 'We'll see what happens, see what happens here, see what happens there.' Forget all of that.
There's a perception in certain parts of the media that I love 'bling.' I love diamonds. I love to show off. I really don't understand where that comes from.
If you grew up the same way I grew up, don't listen to what certain tabloids want to tell you. They just want to steal your joy. They just want to pull you down.
When it rains, nobody hides inside. You just go out and enjoy it. The other thing I remember is begging my grandmother for money to go and get a grapenut ice cream.
I don't think I'm the most confident person, but I have people around me who, while they don't say I am the greatest thing in football, have a general belief in me.
Thank God I had football. I remember when it used to rain, all the kids would run outside and play football in the puddles, just splashing around, having the best time.
Obviously, it's disappointing when you put on a shirt and get negative feedback, but at the same time, it's what the fans want to see; they want to see you perform well.
The fans get a bit frustrated with me because I'm not signing straight away. They can get on your back a little bit, but this is football, and you have to accept these things.
Make the boys go off to the World Cup with a clear head, that everyone is behind them and everyone is with them, and trust me: I think you would definitely see a better England.
Everyone's dream, growing up, is seeing themselves in an away kit somewhere in a sunny country. But, in reality, I'm happy to be playing for Liverpool and trying to win trophies.
I've learned how to deal with pressure more. I'm still trying to achieve more in my game and add more to it. I feel like I'm still learning every day, and I want to keep on improving.
I had a rough year, my first year at Man City, a big club for a big transfer fee. There was a lot of talk, a lot of pressure, and I didn't think I was being spoken about in a fair manner.
Some things that started in pre-season and then, you know what, the season gets started, you kind of forget about it and then move on to football, and it's strictly football until the season finishes.
I remember being coached at Liverpool, and there was another kid called Toni Silva, and they said, 'You know, instead of blasting the ball, and it goes in, do like Toni does: pass it around the keeper.'
I've just got face: he looks like a brat. The 'I don't like face.' That's how I see it. And I'm not a brat. Sometimes I'm watching a movie, and you see a character and go, 'I don't like him' - that's me.
If I lose the ball, I want to get on it as quickly as possible and make up for it, whereas before, I would hide away and maybe only look for the ball 10 minutes later. I don't want to give the defenders any break.
I don't want to be the one that says Liverpool can go on and win the league. But there's a real belief and togetherness in the squad; we're all working for each other. We all know what the dream is at the end of it.
I've come to a point in my career where it doesn't matter if I dribble or nutmeg someone. The only thing that matters is whether I was decisive, did I put the ball in the back of the net today, and did it help the team win.
My mum was working as a cleaner at some hotels to make extra money so she could pay for her degree. I'll never forget waking up at five in the morning before school and helping her clean the toilets at the hotel in Stonebridge.
As a young boy - I was 20-21, around that age - I didn't think I was being treated right. It can affect anyone, not just me. It was about how I bounced back, how I had to think and sit down and try to move on. Not let that defeat me.
Every player wants to win the World Cup - every country wants to win the World Cup - so anything less than that is not really a bonus. Of course you can take positives out of everything, but you won't be entirely happy if you don't win it.
I grew up five minutes from the stadium and watched it being built. I'd play football right outside and look up at this huge stadium with all the cranes and building work and think, 'One day, when it's finished, I need to be playing in here.'
If people want to write about my mum's bathroom in her house, all I have to tell you is that 15 years ago, we were cleaning toilets in Stonebridge and getting breakfast out of the vending machine. If anybody deserves to be happy, it's my mum.