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In my 20 years in football, I was fortunate enough never to have experienced relegation. And while there is the pressure of expectations at the top of the league, at the bottom it comes in fear and trepidation, which is almost worse.
I moved to Manchester United when I was a 17-year-old kid. Nemanja Vidic was five years older than me and Rio Ferdinand nearly nine years, and at the time, they were the best central defenders in the world. They never had a bad game.
I started the 1998 World Cup with Teddy Sheringham up front but always planned for Michael Owen to face Colombia in our final group game because they defended square and a quick striker would be able to exploit the space behind them.
I never felt the same passion for the game in the States and there were a lot of headaches, a lot of obstacles to overcome - it didn't just run itself for the love of the game because soccer is not the No. 1 sport as it is in Europe.
Ask any coach in any sport, and they'll tell you that cutting players is their least favorite thing to do. No coach enjoys having to tell players who have worked so hard and for so long on a dream that they are no longer on the team.
Fatherhood changes you completely. If things didn't go my way before, I became withdrawn and didn't want to see or listen to anyone. Now, when I arrive home, I see my son and everything is OK. He's the most important thing to me now.
I opted for BVB because I need my regular environment where I feel at home. It has nothing to do that I am not able to handle the pressure or what is permanently speculated. We are also measured in wins and trophies here at Dortmund.
Why didn't I stay at Liverpool after having achieved what I wanted to do: to play, score, and of course to relaunch my career? I cannot answer that. It is better to put the question to Gerard Houllier because I really wanted to stay.
When I was minister of sport in Brazil, I tried to bring in a law that would make the chairmen of clubs reveal their accounts like other businesses. It was turned down, but I think it is an important story that will make a good film.
Arsenal fans are real lovers of the game. They don't miss anything in the stadium and are there for the team and the individual players. I have to admit I love banners like 'We don't need Batman, we've got Robin' and stuff like that.
The Premier League is one of the best in the world, without a doubt. The stadiums are always full, and the atmosphere is incredible, but not every footballer is able to play in England. The character can be difficult for a foreigner.
The mental aspect of being a goalkeeper is very important so you have to go into the game with full concentration and confidence. That is a big part of your game and the Premier League is the most demanding league for any goalkeeper.
Being thick isn't an affliction if you're a footballer, because your brains need to be in your feet. And Beckham works hard, he's brave and he crosses a ball superbly. He treats a football like he does a wife, lovingly, with caresses.
For so long, I've been a little misunderstood as a person. You know, I do have this strut about me. I don't know if it's the Jersey girl in me. I like to think of myself as an egg, you know? Hard on the outside but soft on the inside.
I respect all religions, but I'm not a deeply religious person. But I try and live life in the right way, respecting other people. I wasn't brought up in a religious way, but I believe there's something out there that looks after you.
I have been a Manchester United fan all my life and fulfilled every dream I've ever had. I am disappointed that my playing days are at an end. However, it comes to us all and it's knowing when that time is and for me that time is now.
Ronaldo was my hero. I loved watching players like Zidane, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo, but Ronaldo was the best striker I've ever seen. He was so fast he could score from nothing and could shoot the ball better than anyone I've ever seen.
It's not so easy for us when we play teams who have a different mindset, like Chelsea or Inter Milan, because they have the intention of trying to stop us rather than playing a game that is more attractive for the spectators to enjoy.
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.
It's frustrating sometimes: as an athlete, you're thrust into the spotlight, and you know, I think this team has always done a really amazing job of understanding that we have this incredible platform; let's do something good with it.
I would never have thought I was capable of sitting on the bench as the number two man. And it showed me that you can really achieve everything in life, even the unthinkable, as long as you're willing to work on yourself a little bit.
Real Madrid? There is no agreement, but I promised my grandfather I would play there one day. Why wouldn't I want to discover new things? As I've said several times, I'd like to play in Spain and have good weather for once in my life!
I have played a lot games, worked with a lot of these players and learnt an awful lot. I've got the knowledge and leadership qualities. So, its normal that under these circumstances that I got into coaching. I'm learning an awful lot.
China, if they decide to do something, they do it. Not only in football but whatever it is. If you think about the billion population, there must be Messis or Ronaldos out there. There must be many talented football players out there.
Stanley Kubrick, I had been told, hates interviews. It's hard to know what to expect of the man if you've only seen his films. One senses in those films painstaking craftsmanship, a furious intellect at work, a single-minded devotion.
When you play professionally, you get accustomed to turnover. Players come and go - they get injured, they get transferred, they get cut from the team. Coaches are hired, and coaches are fired. It's just part of the world you live in.
You should always give 100%. If you do that then no-one can ask any more of you. Someone once said to me when I was a kid: 'If you're asked to do ten sprints, by all means do 11 but never do nine because you're only cheating yourself'.
I know it is difficult to play in a big club like Manchester United as a No. 10 because you know how many goals you have to score to play there. So I thought I had to add something to my game. I had to give more options to the manager.
There's no point in making predictions. It's not worth speculating because nothing is set in stone and things change all the time in football. Today there are opportunities that no one knows if they will come round again in the future.
Paul Scholes was always unbelievably talented. Quiet. And dirty. When he got his tackle right, it was a great tackle. But when he got it wrong, he could kill someone. He was so talented and a player I feel honoured to have played with.
If you stop now and start to realise what you have achieved, then you start to relax, and you start to lose. I don't think about everything I have achieved. I will do it when I retire because then I will have a lot of days to remember.
It was hard. I came to grips with a lot of difficulties that I've overcome. Each challenge kind of makes you who you are. It wasn't always a good thing. I have my own struggles in my life because of the things I was forced to overcome.
When I was very young, coming into the Sunderland side, if we got beaten, I'd be very down. I'd go home, and it would drag on for days, I'd be thinking about the game. I was from Sunderland, felt things like a fan, and got really down.
London is a very big city, Manchester is calmer. I live near the training ground, so I do things around there in the countryside, but I really like Manchester's Northern Quarter, where they have nice coffee shops and live music places.
I am who I am. I'm from Birmingham. My mum works at Sainsbury's. My dad is a fire-fighter. We keep it real. We know who we are. I haven't made a lot of money, but I'm equally comfortable. I have food, clothes on my back, and my family.
When I was in middle school and even high school, I wasn't comfortable with my body. I look back, and it makes me sad, but I've grown into my body and really embrace it. I don't have the typical girl body; I'm kind of built like a boy.
Everything you see comes from inside. People don't see it but inside the dressing room we laugh and joke a lot so it's not just for the cameras. It's the way things are off the pitch too. We are happy for each other, it is all natural.
You're obviously conscious of being brash or big-headed but I always knew I was going to be a footballer when I was seven or eight. I didn't just think I wanted to be one, I knew I was going to be one. Nothing ever surprised me really.
In football there are lots of origins, cultures, religions and no one feels left out. We all play together and we are all friends. Supporters see that and feel part of the same family, especially in England where you feel very welcome.
I have two younger sisters, and during those first four years when I was in Argentina, I wasn't around to see them grow up. It was very hard for all of us because missing out on that period and not seeing them grow up was tough for me.
I owe a lot to playing on the street. And what was even better than playing on the street was playing football with my friends in the local graveyard. It was fantastic. We forgot what the time was and didn't even go home for our meals.
My role as Manchester City manager was different to being manager of clubs in other countries. You share responsibility more in other European countries. You have the last word, though, in who to buy and who plays and things like that.
It's always tough to play against teams that bunker or 'park the bus' inside the 18-yard box, but we always try to focus on our game and how we can overcome the obstacles that the game presents to continue to get better and score goals.
Before I went to Juventus, I made a final promise to the board at Barcelona. I said, 'You're going to miss me.' I didn't mean as a player. Barca have plenty of incredible players. What I meant was that they were going to miss my spirit.
As soon as a free kick is given and it's anywhere near the box, I get excited. I don't really concentrate what side the keeper is on, because I always think that if I catch it as well as I can, then I can beat him whichever way he goes.
When you start paying attention to diversity, you notice it (and notice its absence!). And based on the culture of your upbringing and the culture of your organization, you may or may not be primed to think consciously about innovation.
People who say that only young people voted on the Internet, those who didn't see Pele play, forget that children are not orphans. There's always a father who buys the computer and perhaps influences their vote. I won the people's vote.
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.
With VAR, the refereeing errors will be reduced, and therefore, we'll all be on equal terms. It will take a lot of the responsibility from the referees on vital decisions, like penalties and goals, and they will make far fewer mistakes.
Just because society has done things the same way for many years, that's no reason to continue doing them. Women will be the harbingers of retirement transformations going forward and will be more creative and humanistic in the process.