"It's incredible, when you give him [Thiago Alcantara] a ball, he is still a kid. And when you take the ball away he is a really mature and experienced football person, who is interested in a lot of things, tactics and all these kind of things. He wants to learn which is very important." Jurgen Klopp [Sky Sports]

"I have passion for the game and I have passion for people. To balance my passion, I also need to work with what I call ‘love and joy’. Passion, love and joy. Love in the sense of loving the game, love to work with people, love the people for who they are but see them for who they can become." Tony Gustavsson

"He [Luis Suarez] is very good, one of us can do the fighting and the other can do the biting." Diego Costa

“(Johan) Cruyff was the most influential (to me) because I was four years with him and when I started as a manager he was an incredible help, but Marcelo [Bielsa], he is the person in world football I admire the most." Pep Guardiola

"Serena Williams became passionate about our team and even played wearing our colours! She wanted to meet us, and I, as captain, got to play the role of ambassador. I also met the long-distance runner Haile Gebrselassie and basketball player Yao Ming. When I first saw him, he was playing pool and bent over double trying to take a shot. When he stood up after it, I thought I was seeing things! I'd never seen anyone so tall before! I had admiration for all those athletes, and I think we won theirs by winning the gold medal." Geremi [FIFA.com]

"I learned my touch and my technique by kicking a ball against a wall hundreds of times in a row, controlling it time and time again, and from playing games for hours every night - in the streets, on gravel, wherever. Even at Ajax we might have a passing exercise and a finishing exercise, then we played a match. That was my generation and the generations before. We would just go outside with the ball and mess around with it. Now there are so many other things in life - mobile phones, video games and stuff - that the kids don't get out as much." Dennis Bergkamp [BBC Sport]

"In Brazil, I believe now football is changing and the public view of goalies is changing, too. People are giving more value to the goalies and to your position. It is a lonely position sometimes. Sometimes you feel that you are alone but you are not. We have the goalie coach. He is like our best friend, a second father for us. I love what I do and you have to love what you do. I just love it." Alisson Becker

"Players like Rose [Lavelle] and Sam [Mewis], I've always said to them I think it would be an awesome thing for them to go experience that and go into another culture, another challenge, so it’s awesome they made that move." Lindsey Horan [Goal]

"In 300 years we will continue talking about [Cristiano] Ronaldo, he is unique. He has maintained the same level in different teams, different leagues and in the national team. He is 35 years old, he has won things over and over again. When he sets a goal, he achieves it." Rui Costa

"To be honest, I like criticism. Because it helps you to improve and understand that you can’t relax. It motivates me. You know, some people surround themselves with “yes men,” but that’s not me. I want people like my friends on the playgrounds who aren’t afraid to point the finger at me and tell me where I’m going wrong." Bruno Fernandes [The Players' Tribune]

"There was nothing I could do about it and when you've got to go, you've got to go." Eric Dier

"He's [Harry Kane] scored so many hat-tricks that I don't even believe that he keeps every ball at home." Jose Mourinho [Premier Sports]

"The match against Barcelona will be a great challenge and it will be fascinating because it confronts those who, in my opinion, are still the two best players in the world, Ronaldo and Messi." Pavel Nedved [Juventus]