You see, in the fashion industry, everybody either knows each other or is linked to one another. If you're not part of their inner circle, things can be hard.

In 2012, we had just won the league with City, and I was really high on confidence going into the Euros when I picked up an injury, which meant I couldn't go.

If I'm reading a book by a footballer I don't want to read about games, how he scored or played well. People want to read what you thought, not what happened.

I personally think that we can win the World Cup. We are improving with every game. With such a young average age in the squad we can only carry on improving.

I will always try to stay on the right path, listen only to my coaches and my inner voice. If there is good advice from journalists, I will take that as well.

In football, the result is an impostor. You can do things really, really well but not win. There's something greater than the result, more lasting - a legacy.

I did get myself into little scrapes when I was younger and a bit stupid, but there is only one manager I have worked under who ever spoke a bad word about me.

You hope to bring your 'A Game' to any game, and of course you do in a final. You hope to bring experience, fitness, communication skills, motivational skills.

Rather than setting property taxes on the value of land and improvements, I'd advocate a plan to set rates based on land values across the entire neighborhood.

The way football is, sometimes, everything that could go wrong goes wrong. You have to dig yourselves out of that by simply working hard and sticking together.

I loved passing, just feeling the ball against my foot. I think any individual, if you enjoy certain things, you tend to practice it more. That was kind of me.

My teammate Franco Baresi was a real captain. He was an example for everyone. Not a big talker. He never talked. But on the field or in training, he was No. 1.

As a finisher, there are few players as composed as Messi. When you can score as many different kinds of goal as he can, you have every reason to be confident.

It doesn't really bother us, the team that is in fashion or that is being talked about the most. Whatever praise or criticism we receive doesn't really matter.

You always need something to complain about. And if you can't come up with anything better, you come along with team leaders. I don't believe in this chitchat.

As you get older, you start to read the game more, and as your brain starts working more, and as you get a good footballing brain, your legs start slowing down!

The greatest thing that has ever happened is whenever I see people in the street, a smile comes on their face straight away and I'm like, 'How did that happen?'

I might have a different understanding of the term 'football star.' If I shoot a few balls after training, it's perfectly normal that I collect them afterwards.

You have some people who recognise the players or coaching staff, but there are a lot who don't have a clue, who look at us and ask, 'What sport are you doing?'

People have different opinions. They are entitled to that and as professionals we get on with it and forget about it and concentrate on what we do on the pitch.

With soccer, I have the ability to do things differently. That is why I admire Leonardo da Vinci. He was able to create things other people wouldn't believe in.

I wish anyone in this world could go to his fridge and pick whatever he wants. Because the day you open your fridge and there is nothing in it, it is difficult.

I never thought in my wildest dreams I'd ever be offered a record deal, and to get a Christmas No. 1 would be huge for any performer, let alone an ex-footballer.

Of course I want to keep playing; that's the best thing for any footballer. But I'm looking forward to not having to put my body through the pain, I have to say.

Having a stadium in France named after a footballer from the Ivory Coast, even if I'm proud of my France-Ivory Coast background, is a great proof of integration.

You get confidence when you get on a roll. When you are not struggling, and you get your players back, it is bound to make everyone feel better about themselves.

I'm delighted to be joining City. It didn't take much persuasion from Mark Hughes; they are heading in the direction I want to go. There is great potential here.

I watch a lot of football and you hardly ever see Premier League players go down with cramp. The fitness, the intensity of Premier League football is phenomenal.

I want to score but when you think of the soldiers in Iraq with bullets flying around their heads you realise a penalty isn't something to get too worried about.

All the managers in the world, it doesn't matter how good you are, if your players don't understand what you are looking for or what you want, it makes no sense.

You need to have the same ideas to work as a team, to have a good team spirit. And you don't get there in a day or even a month. It takes some time to get there.

It will be difficult to finish my career here. I don't know if I am going to end it at Barcelona, although I would like to. I don't know what is going to happen.

I've been playing at a professional level for 17, 18 years now, and there's more to life. I love the game, don't get me wrong - I've cherished every moment of it.

United is a much bigger challenge than Ajax. They're not just a big and famous club but also a worldwide brand, yet when you're inside, it's still a family place.

I still say if the ball is there to be won I will go for it, whether with my head or whatever, and if it means us scoring or stopping a goal, I won't think twice.

It's difficult to oppress people who have a sense of identity and unity, he says. Our struggle is about being seen as human beings trying to earn our daily bread.

The star-jump technique - that is a big part of being a handball goalkeeper, and I brought that move into football. It is a very effective way of saving a chance.

Sir Alex is so consistent with his management. He manages each person differently, but you know exactly where you are with him. You know exactly what is required.

You've got to get a certain amount of sleep. You've got to eat the right thing. You've got to train in the right manner. You've got to behave in the right manner.

Schweinsteiger has got class, he's won the World Cup, he's won everything in the game and he's got experience and that's massive, especially at Manchester United.

For me, the best thing about being a footballer is that indescribable feeling when you are on a pitch doing your job. I don't know what to say - it's what I love.

Germany are a tournament team. I don't know why that is, perhaps the mentality. We always look forward to tournaments. We also believe we can always perform well.

Some teams can't or don't pass the ball. What are you playing for? What's the point? That's not football. Combine, pass, play. That's football - for me, at least.

Maybe one small regret is that I never got to play with Paul Scholes - but I was never going to leave Barcelona and he was never going to leave Manchester United.

People often write after they finish their career, or they don't play anymore, or they are not anymore active. So I say, why do that? And let's do it differently.

Against Chelsea, you will have periods in the game when you are right up against it, when they keep the ball. They are pretty solid the way they set their team up.

I'm really enjoying learning new ideas because eventually I want to become a manager myself so I'm gathering all this information from managers now and previously.

I was a creative player, but I got some bad injuries early on and I decided that if this was a jungle we were playing in then it's better to be a lion than a lamb.

You want to play in the Premier League, full stop. You don't want to play in the Championship. I've played there and I don't want to play there again for West Ham.

It's a special club. It's got history. When I slip on the Manchester United shirt, it's like I'm wearing its past. So you have to sacrifice yourself for this club.

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