When I was young, I told my parents, 'I promise you I'm going to play in the Champions League, and for my first match, I'll invite you to come and watch me play.' Luckily, I was able to do that, and I was very happy. It was a moment of pride.
I'm fine at Wolfsburg, and I'm happy to be able to play in the Champions League.
The Champions League was something very distant for us. I grew up in a very small town with 50,000 inhabitants, and it was a way of being able to watch my idols or people I admired play football on television.
The Champions League is unbelievably big. The whole show before, the fans, the players you play against, the people who are going to watch the game, the pressure - it's very special.
When Chelsea came to me and said they wanted me to come back, I was happy because I had a special moment here - one of the best in my career. I won the Champions League, the Europa League.
I had a dream to play in the Champions League, so every time I play for Real Madrid, and in the Champions League, I try to enjoy it as much as possible because it's the realisation of a dream.
I remember, in my first interview after I arrived in Manchester, I said, 'I didn't come here to play in the Champions League - I have come to win it.'
My parents didn't want me to do this. My dad, when I told him I wanted to wrestle, he told me no, if you're going to play any sports, play baseball.
I want to play in the Premier League, the Champions League, and I want to continue playing for England. If I'm going to do that, I have to play for my club and put in good performances for my club because there are other English midfielders who are doing that in the Premier League.
I have always wanted to play in the Champions League and who wouldn't want to play for the European champions?
You're going to watch football all your life - you're going to watch the Champions League and the Europa League - and I don't have a great feeling when I watch the Europa League, but when I watch the Champions League, I have a great feeling.
I do not need to play in the Champions League to be happy
My best Champions League moment was when Milan won in 2007 against Liverpool. That was the biggest moment for me in the Champions League.
What puts you in a different level is if you win the Premier League, and you're capable of challenging every season for the Premier League, and if you play Champions League, and you really believe, and you're a real contender one day to win the Champions League. That's my objective in Tottenham.
As a general rule I don't have to play in the Champions League to be happy.
I'm ambitious, I want to play in the Champions League, and that's the aim with Tottenham - to start qualifying for the Champions League on a consistent basis.
It's always a good time to play against a team when they come back from Europe, whether it's the Europa League or Champions League.