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Porto prepared me really well and this didn't go unnoticed in Spain, as before I went to Real Madrid the club were known as a graveyard for centre-backs. They had amazing centre-backs that had failed there.
When I got here with Real Madrid, the truth is they responded very well. I know that the people like me, they love me, they have a lot of warmth for me. I'm enchanted for that warmth and love they've shown.
In Spain you fight, of course, against Real Madrid and Barcelona, and they almost never lose because they have the biggest squads, and they are two of the biggest clubs in the world. So it's really difficult.
Ajax have a set model, a defined youth programme - Barcelona have one too, and Juventus. And Atletico Madrid do too. Real Madrid don't - because they alternate developing their own players with signing talent.
Real Madrid is bigger than egos. The club is huge and the culture of the club was so big that we were able to sign huge players. It was then up to the players to adapt to the culture and not the other way around.
I still have a thorn in my side at not having played for Real Madrid or Barcelona, because playing there is a dream for every player. But I consider myself very satisfied to have played for the best teams in Italy.
My time at Real Madrid wasn't a failure. I played 120 matches, I scored 28 goals, and I played an average of 30 games a season. What's more, I won three trophies: La Liga, a Copa del Rey, and a Supercopa de Espana.
People might talk more about Real Madrid and Barcelona than about Atletico, but what matters to me is what happens on the pitch. We compete with them year after year. I am not interested about the club's reputation.
It's really important that when you come to a club, you know the history. My dream was always Real Madrid or Barcelona, but for the fans of Tottenham, the club is the biggest in the world. So that's how I treated it.
I enjoy every moment of playing for Real Madrid and naturally, I give it everything I've got. I do all I can to make sure the fans enjoy the football and that Madrid are always at the top, which is where they belong.
From the moment I left Sao Paulo and Brazil, I was fixed on staying here, playing for the first team and succeeding at Real Madrid. That was always my dream. But it was an advantage to be able to join Castilla first.
At Real Madrid, I did heading drills with Cristiano Ronaldo. You see him go up for headers, that spring and power - he is a real beast. At Juventus, I saw Fernando Llorente, how he finds space and directs his headers.
I would love to finish my career at Real Madrid. But I would not cause a scene if, one day, a coach were to come along and decide he doesn't need me. Only then would I look elsewhere. And I repeat: Real is my priority.
Real Madrid is such an extraordinary club in terms of size and the constant politics that, perhaps, the best results are achieved by those with an ability to remove themselves from the spotlight to concentrate on their work.
My childhood dream? To play at Real Madrid. In 2014, before he died, I promised my grandfather who was from Avila, 110 kilometers from Madrid, that I would play there. It will be complicated, but it sits in a corner of my head.
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!
Real Madrid have that special connection with Europe and Champions League matches. The fans transmit the importance to us and when you play a Champions League game, you get goosebumps, there is no better feeling in the world than that.
I always say that I need competition, and I need competition every week, and in Spain, I was at an amazing club, but I had four matches a year: Barcelona v Real Madrid, Real Madrid v Barcelona, and after that, we'd win 4-0, 5-0, 4-1, 6-1.
The Italian Fabio Cannavaro, who was with Real Madrid when I played against him several times, was the best player in the world in 2006. He wasn't tall, but very quick and strong. He always knew his opponents well, as if he'd researched them.
When we played Real Madrid and won 5-3 it was soaking wet and the ball ended up weighing a kilo. It didn't have a brand. Consider the boots; there was no personalised footwear. Back then we made money, but we played for the love, it was all heart.
I think Pique, apart from the odd personal remark, has never had a bad opinion about any of my teammates at Real Madrid, but obviously, when he attacks Real Madrid, our club, and our institution, it kind of tarnishes all of the rest of what he says.
It's a special club, and everybody opened their arms to me from the first day. The fans and my team-mates treated me wonderfully since the day I arrived, and that warmth has made a madridista. Whatever happens, Real Madrid will always be in my heart.
When we are little, we always dream, and the first teams that come into your head are those on the world stage for their marketing, their image, their publicity. That makes you dream about how nice it would be to play for Real Madrid, to play for Barcelona.
When I moved from Metz to Monaco, we reached an advanced stage in the Champions League, and we played against Real Madrid. It was one of most beautiful days of my life because I was lucky enough to get a signed shirt from the football legend Zinedine Zidane.
I've always been a big fan of Thierry Henry. I enjoy watching all the great players, really. But we're always drawn to some players more than others, and in my case, it's Titi. He's my favourite player. I also really liked Luis Figo when he was at Real Madrid.
With what I've already achieved in my career - winning trophies and playing in finals, important matches against Real Madrid and Barcelona, winning the Europa League and the Super Cup, and in the Champions League - sometimes you've earned the right to say something.
I admire Arsenal and the philosophy that the young players have. Liverpool, with their Spanish players, they also have an incredible squad. And Manchester United and Chelsea are teams that are very big, like Real Madrid and Barcelona, with money and incredible players.
I am not saying that I am at the same level as Messi or Ronaldo. They are the best two players in the world, but I am very proud that I managed to finish above them in the goalscoring charts, especially as I was playing for Atletico Madrid, not Barcelona or Real Madrid.
To be the coach of Real Madrid is an honour, and every coach has pride in that. However, one is also subjected to a wide range of critiques - some just, but others not. But when the criticism deteriorates into insults, which has happened many times, I don't appreciate that.
With hindsight, if you want to play for Real Madrid, sacrifices need to be made but I was too young to understand. There are things I shouldn't have said or done. It was early in my career, maybe too early. I didn't know it was the only Champions League I'd win, for example.
There is definitely a difference when you are fighting for a title against clubs like United or Real Madrid or Barcelona. They are so used to winning, it means that you have to have a different frame of mind when you challenge them because that's the only way to overcome them.
Many great teams have players who have come through the youth system or have been at the club for a long time as their captains. I'm thinking of Steven Gerrard at Liverpool, John Terry at Chelsea, Raul at Real Madrid, as well as Puyol at Barcelona and Gary Neville at Man United.
For a kid that just played for Oviedo, to then going to play for a team like Real Madrid, it felt fantastic. But being taken out of my family home and moving away alone, into the residence Madrid have for young players, it was a bit difficult. But as time passed, I got used to it.
People think I don't have experience in the second division, but we were promoted with Tenerife and Extremadura,and I was the coach of the reserve team with Real Madrid in the second division. I know what it means to go from this level to another level. I realise how difficult it is.
I have played for Real Madrid, which is such a big club and where the pressure is so huge because you have to go and, really, win absolutely every game. There is no game where people don't expect you to win. So, having played there for three years, pressure is nothing that would scare me.
All my future plans are related to Real Madrid, and there are no other clubs on my mind. I'm so happy here along with my family. Few players have ended their career here, Zidane being one of the exceptions. I'd like to be one of those players, too, but time will tell what the future holds.
If you want to keep up with the changes, then you have to watch as much football as you can. Live is the best way but also on television. All the best teams: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and now City. What are they doing? If possible, go and see them training. You can always learn.
I'm not suited to Bolton or Blackburn, I would be more suited to Inter or Real Madrid. It wouldn't be a problem to me to go and manage those clubs because I would win the double or the league every time. Give me Manchester United or Chelsea and I would do the same, it wouldn't be a problem.
In 2000 I was really close to sign for Real Madrid. I was in Belgium, playing the European Championship. I even took a picture with the Real Madrid shirt because all the parties thought that it was a done deal. But Wenger called me several times and convinced me to sign for Arsenal instead.
When I was younger, I had some close friends who always loved European football, and Real Madrid at that time were the dominant force. I remember family holidays when we used to go to Spain, and we'd bring back replica shirts of Real Madrid and pretend to be the players when we played in the park.
I had the good luck to have the experience of training with fantastic football players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Ozil, Modric, and I also played for Real Madrid B. That was a fantastic experience because it was my first international experience as a football player and taught me a lot as a football player.
I always wanted to play for AC Milan or Real Madrid. Real Madrid, of course, because when I was young, the players that played there were the top players. I was looking at Real Madrid as the best of the best. And AC Milan, they also had good players when I was young, so I looked at AC Milan the same way as Real Madrid.
In my youth-team days, I was always a left-winger who would stay close to the byline and put crosses in the box, so I could never cut inside and shoot. It was only when I joined Real Madrid and started playing in a more central position, and then on the right wing, that I suddenly realised I had a really dangerous weapon.
I'm a very temperamental person, but when you are wearing the captain's armband for Real Madrid or the national team, it's best to express yourself in a different way. You have to maintain a sense of unity - a good atmosphere where everyone feels happy is one of the keys to success, and that's something you shouldn't lose.
Real Madrid wanted me to join their academy. It was a big decision to move when I was 15. It's a key age for a youngster, and you're close to your friends and family. But I moved to Madrid, and my family stayed at home. It made me mature earlier than normal. That was a very big decision, and it changed me in a positive way.
Toulouse expanded my game. You were given a freedom to play and express yourself on the field. Toulouse is the biggest club in Europe, rugby's equivalent of Real Madrid. Their game has always been about offloading and running but it is also physical, the complete 'package. It was always exciting, no matter how close a game was.
Both Atletico and Real Madrid called my dad, but at that time, I wasn't doing too well at school, and they wouldn't let me go until my grades improved. They both called back, and since Atleti was closer to home, I joined their football academy. It was the start of a period where I stopped enjoying football - I lost the love for it.