Top 580 Footballer Quotes & Sayings - Page 9

I think that what I don't like is everything that surrounds a footballer. The fame, the people idolizing you, the press, not being able to have a normal life like normal person. I think that is what has held me back a little in football.

Everybody knows that Coutinho is a great footballer - here in England, they call him 'The Magician.' He made his decision to join Barcelona, but every time we meet and play for the Selecao, we have a good chat and maintain that friendship. He is an exceptional guy and one of the best friends football has given me.

At the end of the day, I'm a footballer who has played at some of the biggest football clubs in the world and played with some of the best players in the world.

Every footballer enjoys having the ball at their feet. There are times in training you find yourself without the ball. I enjoy that side of it as well. If we can spend more time working with the ball then everyone will enjoy it.

I always break it down I am three different people. I'm Troy Deeney the footballer, I'm daddy who the kids get to see and I'm Troy which a few of my mates get to see.

As a kid, you obviously dream of being a professional footballer. I would watch players like Ronaldo of Brazil and pretend to be him in the playground. But I don't think about trying to become one of the best in the world or anything like that. I just play football.

I always looked up to Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo because he was for me the ideal footballer. He was at United, he had an unbelievable shot, his skills, he was fast, so the complete player. I always try to do the same things on the pitch like him.

I am a footballer. I know how to play football ,and I know how to manage projects in the area of football. This is what I want to limit myself to.

You know a dog loves you for who you are; they don't know if you're a soccer player or not. Sometimes people treat you good because you're a footballer or because you're famous, but a dog doesn't know it.

I've met lots of footballers like Alan Shearer, David Beckham, and Steven Gerrard. I don't really get starstruck because I just think they're another footballer like me; they just get paid a lot more.

I spend time with my family. I have got two daughters who are too young to know their Dad's a footballer. They just want to play with their Dad. I like to play golf, too, but apart from that, that's me, I'm afraid.

From United's point of view, it is always difficult to tell just when a young footballer is going to mature into a first-class professional ready to play at the highest level, but the story of how Pogba slipped away from United has more than one strand to it.

I'm very aware that you lead a very peculiar existence as a professional footballer, being flown everywhere first-class and never having to queue up for anything. Of course, that's attractive, but if you're not careful, you end up living in a world where nothing is really real.

When I was living on my own, for a footballer it's easy to do the things that you're not supposed to, or not what the sport science team says. For example, if there's a packet of crisps, you're going to eat them. The same with a packet of sweets. Go to bed at a certain time? You're not going to if you're on your own.

You know I don't think there will ever be a time when the English player is not respected, and feared, across the world of football. The English footballer is very brave and strong and committed and there is always enough high-class players in his team to cause concern in any opponent. It is a national characteristic.

As a young footballer, it's not easy to come from Canada and then try to play in one of the best teams in the world. It takes time, especially at a young age. It takes a lot of patience to be able to play.

My father went to catch wild frogs. I was skinny and weak, and my father heard their juice would give me size and strength. It tasted very, very bad... but I had to drink it because I wanted to be a footballer, and everyone said I needed to be bigger and stronger.

I had an early taste of fame. I was 20, going out with TV presenter Dani Behr and we'd have paparazzi chasing us. I'm not comfortable being photographed, though I accept it is part of the job. I had to ask myself, 'What comes first, being a celebrity or footballer?'

Dagenham offered me a two-year opportunity really. It wasn't a pro deal, just a chance to impress. I was sent out on loan straight away. I got a professional contract on the back of that and it wasn't until I started scoring in League Two that I actually realized, 'I'm professional footballer.'

My favourite player was Jack Grealish; top man! He is a naturally gifted footballer and for me, he is a joy to watch. If I could watch any player play, it would be him. He can do everything - he is exciting and tries to make things happen.

Scholesy was a genius, absolute genius. He was a center-forward's dream, you could make a run and he'd put the ball perfectly in your path. Any footballer you ask will always tell you that Scholesy was one of the best players they've ever played with.

As a young kid, you never really understand what it takes to be a footballer: what it's like after you've won or what the changing room is like after a loss, or, as an individual, have you played a good game? Have you played a bad game?

Having a stadium in France named after a footballer from the Ivory Coast, even if I'm proud of my France-Ivory Coast background, is a great proof of integration.

A talented footballer comes over, his family depends on him, and if his agent or club don't treat him well, he might not succeed, and then he feels he's let everyone down. For years, African players have been exploited.

I think having a back-up plan is never a bad thing. I would hate to be a male footballer and look back on 15 years of my career and think, 'Oh well, I've got a lot a money but what now?'

On some occasions, it is every footballer's dream to play for the national team, but if you don't reach it, you always need to work harder to reach a higher level, a level you wouldn't reach if you didn't have this as a goal.

If you're going to be a footballer, be a great one.If you're going to have a dream, dream big.

Ballet is like football. I don't understand a footballer's technique but I can see when he's playing brilliantly. People don't like ballet because they think they don't understand it. Actually they do. It's the most primitive form of appeal.

Before leaving, I was seen as a good player, perhaps as a very good player, but as one of the many players that Bayern had. But if you play as a Real footballer, you get even more attention. Maybe that part from the fans I do not like so much.

We always talk about experience and maturing, the best thing that can happen to a footballer is the game slows down for them. All of a sudden, they can see things, they can see passes, they can see space, the whole game opens up for them.

When I left Liverpool, I knew had to leave. It was a big step but it was something I had to do. A lot of people asked if it was hard, it wasn't hard. It was something I needed to do to improve and get better as a footballer.

When I was a child, it was my dream to be a professional footballer. When I was 14 I visited Milan's San Siro stadium and remember thinking how unbelievable it was. From then onwards I vowed that one day I would be playing there - and I am very proud that I achieved this and also for everything else I have managed to achieve in football.

I had an early taste of fame. I was 20, going out with TV presenter Dani Behr and we'd have paparazzi chasing us. I'm not comfortable being photographed, though I accept it is part of the job. I had to ask myself, 'What comes first, being a celebrity or footballer?

People talk about what I did in my private life more than if I'm good at football. 'Oh yeah, he was good, but I don't like him because of this.' But you don't know me! Know me as a footballer.

Thirteen years after Basic Instinct, Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone) is now in London, and is going out with a footballer played by Stan Collymore, of all people. On the rebound from John Motson, perhaps. It is difficult to convey just how uproariously awful this movie is, all of the time.

I had to go to see the careers woman at school, and when she asked me what I wanted to do after school, I told her flat: 'I want to be a professional footballer.' I can remember her being silent for a few seconds, just looking at me.

To score in the World Cup final is not a small story, of course. Every footballer dreams of it: first to become a world champion and then, even better, to score in the final. This happened to me, and I'm glad.

When you are a player, a footballer, or a manager of a great club like Chelsea, you must play to win. To win. To win the title. Or to fight and, at the end, to compete with the other teams to win the title and reach your targets.

A friend at school was always being laughed at because his father emptied dustbins for a living. But those who laughed worshipped famous footballers. This is an example of our topsy-turvy view of 'success.' Who would we miss most if they did not work for a month, the footballer or the garbage collector?

I wasn't really interested in girls. Only football. I was just enjoying football all the time. There was a five-a-side next to the flat, and I used to play there all the time. It was all about football. I wanted to be a professional. That was my goal. I didn't want to be anything other than a footballer.

As a player, you want to win everything as much as you can. If you're a footballer, you're a winner. When you then step up to the first team and you win something with them, that feeling is multiplied massively because you're at the top of the club and now you're winning so you want it more and more.

When I retired in 2006, I stayed for a further two years in England. I stayed because I wanted to be in England without being a footballer, without the rhythm. I wanted to enjoy the city.

It would not be honest if I did a review, because I've worked with Leo Messi, whom I consider the best player I've seen. I cannot comment or compare with Cristiano Ronaldo because I have not worked with him. That is not to say that I do not have as much respect for Cristiano as a footballer.

Let me tell you what it is like playing against Messi. You are up against a footballer who can take the ball either side of you, and you have no idea which side that might be from any hint about his body-shape.

I don't know where horse riding could have taken me, and it's something I can always go back to when I've retired from football, but the crossroads came in my life when Chelsea wanted to sign me and make me a professional footballer in 2013 when I was 20.

I'm very proud of 'Gavin and Stacey,' but I think I have to write something else even to start to consider myself a writer. Just because you do something once, it doesn't mean that's who you are. I played football last night; it doesn't mean I'm a footballer.

Yes, I was a footballer, but there's more to me than meets the eye. I've got more levels. So many levels. I'm not going away - and I'm going to keep on talking until things start changing.

I think it's all about confidence and having a regular run in the team. The rest takes care of itself; a footballer never forgets how to play football, and I'm convinced that game time, matches, was all I needed because, ultimately, no one forgets how to score goals.

When I was younger I would play in front of crowds as small as 500 in the second division in Belgium, so I know what that's like. It might be easier in terms of pressure, but believe me, I would always prefer to be at a packed Anfield playing against Manchester United. That's why you want to become a footballer.

More teams are trying to go full-time, so it gives everyone the best chance possible to be the best footballer they can be, which makes it more appealing to fans, because we're better as we focus solely on the game as our job.

My dream was to become a footballer. I started loving football so much that I followed my dad wherever he went and spent all my time playing football with friends out in the fields. But my parents also taught me the important values and principles in life of respect and to raise me in that way.

I live in a bubble. Real life is the one my friends live. They've had to look for work, sign on to the dole, and emigrate. That's normal life now. My life as a footballer is not normal.

If I have to, I'll keep going until my career ends, but I think I've found a club to put down roots. A traditional club that supports its people, people who believe in it and give everything. I'd like to be part of that, a great footballer for many years for Arsenal.

Not just me but every professional footballer will tell you they miss playing the game, I miss the game especially as I retired early, not because I was a bad player but I retired solely for health reasons.

He's an incredible person. Messi is not simply a uniquely talented footballer. He's also strong mentally, very bright, and exceptionally dedicated to his job. Personally speaking, I enjoy watching him play, and I'm deeply proud of him and what he has achieved. Quite simply, he's the best.

When I dreamt of being a footballer I dreamt of being a forward, but I wasn't talented enough.

If I'd had the choice when I was 14, and someone had said to me, 'You can either be a footballer or an actor,' I'd have said: 'Well, can't I be a footballing actor?'

I am a professional footballer, and it's a game where the coach decides where you can be most beneficial for the team. As long as I am attacking, I am happy! I know what Jose Mourinho decides will be best for me personally and for the team.

They're great memories, not just as a footballer but as a person growing up - it sounds daft, but to come away from Liverpool to play the first-team football I needed. It's a fantastic place, a huge football club and they helped me a lot. I'm grateful for coming through there.

Originally, I wanted a pop career and formed a girl-band 'Genie Queen' managed by Andy McClusky from 'Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark', but it didn't work out. My brother John is the talented singer and song-writer with 'The Razz,' while my other brother Sean is a footballer for Telford United.