“You cannot say we were violent. There wasn’t any blood. If we wanted, Barça would have gone off on stretchers.” Espanyol’s Papakouly Diop denies his side had a bad attitude in their 4-1 Copa del Rey defeat at Barcelona
"It was an intense game with a lot of confrontation. But I don't think there was anything outlandish. What happens on the field stays on the field." Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets offers his take on the chippy encounter against Espanyol
“This is no joke. I'm actually a member of this fine ownership group, and it's very exciting for me. I've never been a part-owner of anything…I'm still part-owner of an '84 Camry with my brother.” Actor Will Ferrell on owning a minority stake of Los Angeles FC, a new Major League Soccer club set to join the American top-flight in 2018
“They've already been sending me messages: 'Sorry about the things we said to you in the past. Welcome.' So it's part of it. I'm looking forward to getting into the stadium and trying to contribute. It'll be fun." **Brad Davis on making the switch from Houston Dynamo to Sporting Kansas City and his new club’s supporters that would give the USA international more than his fair share of criticism when the Texas club visited the Blue Caldron
“Would I take the job again? Of course I would because there are very few managers in the world who wouldn't want to manage Manchester United. I wouldn't have done anything different. I'd have only done it different if I'd have known it was ten months rather than six years.” **David Moyes when asked if he would manage Manchester United again
“This was a great player. He is pre-determined to not do things like others and what I like is that it he has been given the means to become a coach. His first club is Real Madrid, it's beautiful. As I said, it's extraordinary and I wish him success." **Laurent Blanc on Zinedine Zidane’s appointment as Real Madrid coach
"All we can do is enjoy what he does because what he is doing is not normal. We used to say that a player who got 23 to 25 goals in a season was an incredible striker, but Messi does that in three months. I think it would be madness if he does not win the Ballon d'Or.” **Thierry Henry on his former team-mates bid for a fifth FIFA Ballon d’Or
“He (Martinez) actually called me three times and I didn’t pick up on the first two, so I’m glad I answered eventually. I discussed it with him, I spoke to Chelsea, I spoke to my mother, and eventually she said: ‘Go to Everton.’ I haven’t regretted it.”* *Romelu Lukaku on taking his mother’s advice to join the Toffees
"I tell people in the Netherlands I played last year against PEC Zwolle and nearly bent a free-kick in. That was in the FA Cup in the Netherlands and there were 8,000 people watching. Now I go to a big stadium like Stamford Bridge, with 40,000 people, it’s something different – a dream.” Scunthorpe United’s Kevin van Veen on facing Chelsea in the English FA Cup on Sunday