For me, the best defender I played against was Carles Puyol. He was my teammate, too, but my rival many times. Also, Roberto Ayala, the Argentinian centerback.
Roberto Clemente played the game of baseball with great passion. That passion could only be matched by his unrelenting commitment to make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate and those in need. People saw Roberto as a great ballplayer and humanitarian. He was also a great father, husband, teammate and friend.
It's an honour to be able to wear the No.5 jersey and that Carles Puyol thought of me to inherit it.
I like Pique a lot. He has class. He knows how to defend and also how to score. He is perfect in a duo with Carles Puyol.
My best teammate was Roberto Carlos.
Carles Puyol is a Barcelona legend. He could have been playing every two weeks but he has shown dignity until the end.
I can say that Thiago Silva has no rival in his position. He is by far the best defender in the world. It’s a compliment for me to be compared to him.
When I came to Barcelona, I really liked in the dressing room that I found balanced, normal people: [Victor] Valdes, [Carles] Puyol, [Andrés] Iniesta. They don't think they are the center of the world for being football players.
Best player I ever played against? I mean, I played against many, many good players, so I don't know who to keep. I would say Ronaldo the Fenomeno.
I wanted to prove myself on the pitch, but I didn't have many chances, so it put a lot more pressure on every single game that I played. I found myself in situations where I was so keen to show my qualities, but many times it worked against me and I was punished for being too eager.
Paolo Maldini. He was tough, tough, every time we played against each other. And I played against him many times. He's a very good friend.
As a competitor, you always want to go against the best, so whoever guards me, I'm hoping it's the best defender from the other team.
I have played against (Michel) Platini, (Diego) Maradona, (Johan) Cruyff and played with George Best — a lot of big names, but none of them has been able to do what Messi does. Two years ago I said that the best player I played against was Maradona and the best player I have played with was Bestie. But I can now say I have never seen a player as good as Messi. He’s in a league of his own.
I was known as a Yankee killer. My best year against them was 1953. I beat them five times and shut them out four times. You just played a little harder against them.
We all wore a 21 patch that one season as a silent tribute to our deceased teammate Roberto.
I played a lot of times at the beginning at Ajax as a left full back with a fantastic combination with Mark Overmars but I think as a central defender and a leader in the back it was my best role I think.