Saturday 13 August 2016, 07:44

The Week in Quotes

"It's easier for ET to come to Piccadilly Circus. It is more difficult than last season. It is normal that we can't win the league. For this reason, I say the bookmakers must do 6,000-1. I am very curious, all the world is curious, what will happen with Leicester. I am very curious to see where we finish." *Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri is unsurprisingly playing down the chances of a repeat fairytale for the English Premier League champions

  • "Sergio Ramos is our captain, an important player and he's always there to earn us the trophy. There were no special instructions for him. With a player like Sergio, he's always been the difference. We've seen it before. He's grown as a player, too. In this final, he was there just where he needed to be." Zinedine Zidane praises Sergio Ramos when speaking to the media after Real Madrid’s UEFA Super Cup final victory over Sevilla ** "I still want to win the league for the first time with United because I didn't win the league when I left. The Champions League, of course, and personally one of my dreams is to win the Ballon d'Or. That will come with time and hopefully it will come but first I want to win the Premier League, which I have never done. I just feel happy. There's no words, just happiness and I can't wait to start playing. It just looks like I left this team and then I came back. It's a great feeling, to be honest. When I came back I just felt like I left something and then I came back – just taller, bigger, older. That's it. I'm enjoying it." **Paul Pogba reflects on his world record transfer back to Manchester United with MUTV and what he hopes to achieve there

Arsenal’s Mesut Ozilreturned to training this week ahead of the new English Premier League season

"When I saw Eden Hazard here at Chelsea I said to him you maybe do not know but everyone thanks you." New Chelsea signing N'Golo Kante, in conversation with their official website, reveals he had a message for the Belgian star after his equalising goal against Tottenham Hotspur handed Leicester City the English Premier League title

"I knew that if I went to Barça, I would have found myself as the fourth attacker. My game time would have reduced I think. In fact there was more chance of me staying at Sevilla than going to Barcelona. My agents made me aware of more attractive offers on a financial level but I wanted to stay in Spain. I feel very good here and my family does too." *Kevin Gameiro tells L'Equipe that he turned down the chance to join Barcelona, instead opting for a move to UEFA Champions League runners up Atletico Madrid

"The Premier League is the best league to work in, to play in, the most competitive one and the most covered one in the whole world. This is the NBA, this is Hollywood. And we are human, so we want to be a part of something big." In an interview with Daily Mail, West Ham United boss Slaven Biliccompares Premier League football to Hollywood ** "Neymar will one day become the best player in the world and we need to respect him. He is young and I know that sometimes he behaves in a way we might not agree with, but at his age wouldn't we do the same things he does, having everything he has? If we don't respect our best players they might not want to be with us any more." Brazil coach Rogerio Micale calls for fans and press to scrutinise captain Neymar less for his life off the field, for fear of driving him away*

"I’ve played with the team for 13 years, which is a very long time. When I started, I was 17 years old and wanted to achieve a lot, obviously on the field, but also beyond. I have three children, a happy life, so I can afford to take a decision to help me go further in that direction. In the coming years in the national team I want to give up the total sum I would be entitled to from the national team. I will donate it to charities that are special to me. This will motivate me even more and especially get me more fun moments with our fans and with this fantastic team. All that looking ahead to 2018, and why not further?" Belgium and Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany explains on Facebook that his appearances for Les Diables Rouges will be all the more charitable

"They (her brother and his friends) didn't go soft on me because I was a girl or smaller and I had to fight for my place, which paid off because I was scouted at eight to play for Arsenal. But when I played for Boston Breakers in my early twenties, I really stepped up my training, which meant running drills until you're sick. I've adopted that mentality: every day I do weights and core in the gym in the morning, and train on the field in the afternoon. And I'm strict with my diet – I include protein in every meal and snack. I'm so proud of my body and what it's let me achieve, but I will probably hang up my boots in the near future. I want to retire on a high." *Alex Scott, of Arsenal Ladies and England, reveals the secrets of her physical success in Women's Health and hints that she might call time on her career soon*

"Man United has to be in the Champions League. I think that the Champions League is empty when Man United is not there. Imagine the Champions League without Man United, Real Madrid, Barcelona. There are a certain numbers of clubs that make it not a Champions League without these clubs. That’s Man United and their natural habitat." New Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho laments the fact that his side will be out of Europe's top competition this season

"On paper, this is the best squad that I have had in my three years at Barca. We have a squad that has been strengthened brilliantly. All the new players have settled in well. They have quality and will have to compete for a place. It's now up to us to see if we can retain the titles we won last season and also win more. I hope we can live up to expectations." Barcelona coach Luis Enrique when speaking to the club website

"Paul is a huge talent and someone with the personality to handle that price tag. He can do everything. He is still working out the best way to use all of his weapons but, once he does, he will be an absolute monster of a player." Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand on Paul Pogba when speaking with BBC Sport

“The football you learn on the street gives you that something extra for those games when you've got to show that bit of guile and you need street smarts.” ***Antony Lozano explains where he has found that extra bit of nous to help Honduras into the quarter-finals of Rio 2016

"I grew up watching the show and now my children watch the show, so to me, it's a great honour to join the long list of notable people who have been a part of the historic program." New York City FC’s David Villa after his guest appearance on USA ‘s show Sesame Street*

“As soon as my father started to show me tapes from the time when he played, and when I watched things on YouTube as a boy, I said to myself that I wanted to be like him and to play on big stages like this, at the Olympic Games.” Portugal forward Goncalo Paciencia discusses the education his father, former international Domingos Paciencia, gave him in football

"I understand that this is a totally unexpected step for a retired footballer. Working as a DJ is very difficult for anyone who used to play football. You can't just stand behind the decks and try to make money out of your popularity. You need to really live the job, it's a lot of work." Former Spartak Moscow and Lokomotiv Moscow goalkeeper Ruslan Nigmatullin gives an insight into his new musical career

"People have the image of me that I'm a bad boy; I'm this and I'm that. People are curious: 'How is this Zlatan?' I'm a family guy. I'm taking care of my family, but when I come on the pitch I'm a lion. That's the big difference. I don't believe I'm arrogant in the way that people think. I'm confident. I believe in myself. That's not being arrogant. That's something I believe is an individual strength in the human being. I have confidence and I believe in myself. I have a vision and I do everything. I work hard for it. I don't believe that's arrogant." Manchester United new boy Zlatan Ibrahimovic warns not to confuse his confidence for arrogance when speaking to Sky Sports

“Simply put, that goal changed my life. My country has never been at the forefront of the football world, but that goal turned the spotlight on us, if only for a little while.” Fiji’s historic scorer of their first goal at a FIFA tournament, during the FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015, Iosefo Verevou recalls the impact of his strike against Germany

“Sometimes I’d get the ball and they’d back up two yards and I would tell them, ‘No, it’s OK you can play me like a guy, I don’t care’. I remember one guy elbowed me in the face and said, ‘Go play with dolls!’ It was that intense. I just laughed.” **Allie Long of USA gives an insight into what life is like for a woman in the men’s New York futsal leagues

"He’s a great person who really understands the players. In a short space of time he’s proved his talent as a coach. He’s a winning coach. But the thing that has surprised me the most is how calm he is when he explains things." In the UEFA Super Cup programme notes, Real Madrid’s Marcelo talks about manager Zinedine Zidane