"He taught me a lot about the way 'to be French'. He explained to me the French mentality. I owe a large part of my adaptation to him, and, therefore, my happiness to be here. First of all, I was very touched by the man he is. Kylian is very considerate, always happy, polite and kind to everyone. He is a very beautiful person. That’s why we’ve got along so well since our first contact. Then, of course, I had the opportunity to watch him train, to observe his speed, his dribbling repertoire, his intelligence and to see his humility to keep evolving. There, I said to myself: ‘he is our golden boy!’ Speed alone doesn't mean anything. You have to be smart to use it properly, and Kylian is. He is not only very smart and fast, but he also has a huge repertoire of dribbling." Neymar on Kylian Mbappe (France Football)
"We went through a hard, 130-day training camp. In each day's training session we covered over 10,000 metres. We were more than ready for the play-off and when we went out there, we were able to get the better of them." Wang Shuang on qualifying for the Olympics (FIFA.com)
“I’ll be honest, I’ve seen some things on it on social media and sometimes in my group chats my mates send me some stuff and I just laugh about it! I can’t be compared to him, he was unbelievable! I’m aware of it and it’s nice to be even mentioned alongside his name, but I just laugh about it!" Luke Shaw on being compared with Roberto Carlos (ManUtd.com)
"It's so easy to work with him. He's only 22 but so mature and in his mind it is just about working, playing and scoring goals. It's also easy to communicate because his Spanish is fantastic and his English is amazing. He's very easy to work with, very humble and a lovely guy. It's impossible not to love him, and on the pitch he is unbelievable with his talent. In 11 or 12 years as a coach he is maybe the easiest player I have managed." Mauricio Pochettino on Mbappe (BT Sport)
"I cannot believe it [that he's 17]. Maybe he's a liar! He's so good at 17-years-old. He's a fantastic player. I saw in a match when he didn't get the ball from the central defenders how he shouted and how he demanded the ball to him. At 17-years-old that means a lot." Pep Guardiola on Jude Bellingham
"Unbelievable. Everything's happened the way it was supposed to. I really believed it was written in the stars for us tonight. And all the young girls watching this, dream of wearing the green shirt because it will be the most amazing time you'll ever have." Captain Marissa Callaghan after qualifying Northern Ireland for the Women's EURO (BBC)
"As soon as the ball fell to Ricardo Gardner, I knew exactly where he was going to cross it. He was only 17 at the time but even then he was a great crosser. I'd seen it in training a few days earlier and I just knew when he put it in that I was going to score. That was a great moment and was a nice little thank you back to Jamaica for giving me the opportunity to play international football. I think I would have felt a bit unfulfilled in my career if I didn't get that chance." Robbie Earle on scoring Jamaica's first-ever FIFA World Cup™ goal (Sportsmail)
“At the beginning of the season, I thought he was an average player, but I was wrong. Italy is the university of football. If you want to make a further step, you must play in Serie A. Lukaku is not only capable of scoring in any way and against any opponent, but he is also a great leader who helps the team. For me, he is on the same level as Lewandowski, Haaland and Mbappe." Alessandro Altobelli on Romelu Lukaku (La Gazzetta dello Sport)
"Until 2014 I was the best No.9 in the world, and after Germany it was all over. Before that I had hit nine goals in the qualifiers, something nobody talks about, because let's not forget you have to score in the qualifiers to get to the World Cup. Now I've moved past it, I'm past the criticisms, the harassment, they can say what they want. Before it hurt me, I won't deny it, that wouldn't be honest, I have suffered and had bad times. But let's say that since the arrival of my daughter, who is turning three years old, she started changing my outlook. With her I started to understand that there are more important things in my life than wondering 'what will they say?' I am in a stage of my life where I don't care anymore, I'm past what they might say. Now, that doesn't affect me." Gonzalo Higuain (La Nacion)
“When I was young I didn’t know that women’s football existed. Coming from South America is not easy, we are very behind ... in women’s football. [Playing at the Olympics] is something that as a professional you want to do, it’s your dream, it’s something bigger than anything. It will be very important for me, the team, and, of course, Chile. We don’t have so many Olympic athletes.” Chile goalkeeper Christiane Endler speaking ahead of La Roja’s successful qualification play-off for Tokyo 2020 (olympicchannel.com)