"Fear is not a bad thing in my opinion because if you don’t have fear then you are going in front of the lion thinking it is a cat." Carlo Ancelotti

"The two things I do least well are singing and dancing. Ibra is also a terrible singer. At least we'll make people laugh." Sinisa Mihajlovic announces he and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will sing at the Sanremo song contest (Sky Italia)

"When I fail, I get some insults. When I play Counter-Strike I get a lot more nervous than playing at the Bernabéu. I feel more pressure from people watching me play video games live than football." Casemiro (Marca Gaming)

"To say it’s been a long time is an understatement. It’s been over 500 days, so you guys don’t have to sugar-coat it. But I’m very excited to get my first goal back with the national team and join the list of moms on the team who have scored goals and played as a national team player. I just want to be an example for other female athletes who are moms or want to become moms knowing that they still belong in the game." Alex Morgan

"What do I like most about Robert Lewandowski? The fact he is never satisfied. Every year he tries to improve and go beyond his limits, even if they are already exceptional. He is a complete striker. It was crazy to beat him in the race for the Golden Boot. To challenge great players like him and Ronaldo brought me great happiness." Ciro Immobile (UEFA.com)

"We can all see a game and think, for example, ‘They’re struggling to break the opposition down.' But my father would say: ‘Don’t tell me that. Tell me what they can do to solve the problem.’ And that is the key to coaching because, in football, there is no right or wrong: we’re all looking to get the ball in the back of the net, and how you do that comes down to your experiences and how you understand the game. From a young age, my dad made me think about that. He still does! We keep going, and I treasure our conversations. But it’s a good thing they don’t get recorded. (laughs)" Roberto Martinez (FIFA.com)

"At the beginning, I had this self-image that I can go on doing my thing here, but in the last few months I have been brought down to earth. It's the way in England that you never have a quiet game. The players are 1.9 meters tall, brutal physically and really fast - including the defenders. It's impressive what intensity is going on in the Premier League." Timo Werner (kicker)

"I think he can do even much more than we think. He is a very intelligent player. He has a very good technique and he scores easily. But I also see him passing the ball, playing one-twos and finding open spaces. He is really a very special boy." Marco van Basten on Erling Haaland (Ziggo Sport)

"Eden, along with Neymar, are the best players I have ever played alongside – up there with Messi. He didn’t train well, five minutes before the game he would be playing Mario Kart in the dressing room. He would warm-up without tying his bootlaces up. Then no-one could take the ball off of him. He would dribble past three or four players and win games on his own. Hazard has so much talent. Perhaps he lacks a little bit of ambition to say: I am going to be the best player in the world. Because he could be. Filipe Luis (Daily Mail)

"In the end, I just listened to the feeling that over a long period of time kept telling me that it was the right decision to play for Germany, the land I was born in. Still, it wasn’t an easy decision for me. It is difficult to find words for what England means for me because I have so many memories connected to very positive emotions. I have a heart for Germany and a heart for England. Both hearts will keep on beating." Jamal Musiala (The Athletic)

"I hope that I reach that level because Cristiano and Messi reached a level that no other player reached. We want to do the same, we want to show the people that we can do that too. Mbappe and Haaland are in a good way to do it and if I reach that level too, it's very good for me." Joao Felix (Daily Mail)

“Our target from the beginning was [winning] the Champions League, the Premier League and also cup games. And now, I can say it's over for the Premier League … it's too much. In our head, our self-belief, it's always 'never give up', and we won't give up, but for sure, Manchester [City] are a good team and they're flying." Sadio Mane (ESPN Brazil)

"I don't need to describe Ronaldo, 'The Phenomenon'. I always say you have the players that play the game, and the players that are the game. For me, Ronaldo is the game. When you watch him play, everyone wanted to play like him and become like him. The way he was moving, the way he did his stepovers, the way he did 'the snake'. The way he was moving, for me he's the greatest player through history, no doubt." Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Discovery Plus)

"I know I speak for a lot of Argentines when I say that I struggle to imagine a world without Maradona. Ever since I was a kid, he was always present, always untouchable. When I saw him play at the 1986 World Cup, I realised what he meant to the world, and what he meant to us. Diego changed my whole perception of what football can be. I was watching the games with my parents and my brother in our living room, and I saw Diego take football to a height I had never thought was possible. The goals, the glory, the passion. This was football. When we went out in the streets to celebrate the World Cup title, I knew that it was the greatest expression of satisfaction, of relish, that football could bring. And the source of all that emotion was Maradona." Martin Palermo (The Players' Tribune)