A Quote by Ryan Babel
I have played for Ajax, Liverpool and Besiktas in Turkey - all massive clubs in Europe.
Related Quotes
I got racist abuse at Liverpool when I played for Watford. Then I played for Liverpool and didn't get it. If I had played for Everton against Liverpool then maybe the Liverpool fans would have racially abused me.
There are massive clubs with massive amounts of money, and Liverpool were always a little bit behind. But if you create a good team, a good atmosphere, and work hard, you can get there. You can win trophies.
I suppose people lost interest in me when I left Liverpool; but it wasn't me who left, it was other people who left me. If people had continued to follow me, they would have seen my two good seasons in Turkey which caught the attention of Besiktas and Galatasaray.
I'm optimistic about Turkey's prospects for reaching the E.U.'s standards of development, governance, and democracy, whether inside or outside the E.U. Provided you have a prosperous, rational society in Turkey that can interact with Europe and the West, I don't really care what kind of institutional arrangement you have. The point to make about Turkey and Europe is that it's a very long, drawn-out process. What's important is that the process not be stopped, that Turkey and Europe evolve in the right direction, on a path of convergence. Convergence is the name of the game.
Other teams have offered me really big money but my love for Galatasaray is real. I want to play in major leagues and my dream team is Liverpool F.C. As I always mention, Liverpool attracts me because of their tradition. In Europe, I am a Liverpool supporter, so if I go to play in Europe, I would like to play for them.
Turkey is not a part of Europe and will never be part of Europe ... The universal values which are in force in Europe, and which are fundamental values of Christianity, will lose vigor with the entry of a large Islamic country such as Turkey.
There's opposition in Europe to Turkish membership because these are the inevitable fears of energetic, poorer, Muslim outsiders who will come in and work hard and take jobs. There's also a fear that under E.U. rules Turkey might get a disproportionate amount of cohesion funds and agricultural subsidies - although it's quite clear that Europe is changing its rules, and that there will not be very much in the way of net transfers of resources from Europe to Turkey.
Many clubs wanted to know when I was leaving Inter, and Liverpool was one of those clubs, so people were surprised I chose Galatasaray.
I played for four different clubs in France; I played for Marseille, which is one of the biggest clubs.
I could have sat on the bench for a third year but I moved to West Brom from Liverpool to play. I love Liverpool and I've played a lot of games in my career so if I wanted to have a comfy life, I could have stayed at Liverpool.
When I played in Belgium, Germany and England, their cultures were similar, more or less, because these clubs are all in Europe.
If Turkey become a member of the EU, of course Turks would lose a part of this identity, just as Europe would lose a part of its own. It would also be a different Europe then. Accepting Turkey into the EU is an ambitious political endeavor of historical proportions. Europe would become a strong, multi-religious unit.
With Ajax and Liverpool, you win about 80 per cent of matches.
It's a massive experience: playing against Galatasaray and Besiktas, you can feel the atmosphere. It feels like the stadium is going to fall down due to the fans singing and bouncing.
There are of course economic advantages to having Turkey as a member of the European club. It's a developing country with a large, reasonably well-trained labor force at a time when the European birth rate is dropping at a catastrophic rate and Europe is graying. It offers opportunities for greater trade and investment to the benefit of both Turkey and Europe.
We are ready to build large underground gas storages in Turkey, to participate in the privatization of Turkey's gas-distribution networks, to use the existing and participate in the construction of new pipelines in order to supply our energy resources through Turkey to third countries, including in southern Europe
Related Authors
Allen Iverson Quotes
American
Athlete
Andy Murray Quotes
Scottish
Athlete
CM Punk Quotes
American
Athlete
Conor McGregor Quotes
Irish
Athlete
Georges St-Pierre Quotes
Canadian
Athlete
Jack LaLanne Quotes
American
Athlete
Jillian Michaels Quotes
American
Athlete
Jon Jones Quotes
American
Athlete
Kenny Smith Quotes
American
Athlete
Kevin Durant Quotes
American
Athlete
Rafael Nadal Quotes
Spanish
Athlete
Ronda Rousey Quotes
American
Athlete
Scottie Pippen Quotes
American
Athlete
Shaquille O'Neal Quotes
American
Athlete
Stephen Curry Quotes
American
Athlete
Usain Bolt Quotes
Jamaican
Athlete