"I think it’s Megan [Rapinoe]. To be honest, it’s difficult for me to judge, because I’m playing outside of Europe and USA, so I can’t follow all of the players. But I think it's Megan, for everything she did at the World Cup." Brazil forward Cristiane tells us in an exclusive interview she thinks the USA star is the best in the world right now

"I will never forget the moment that we arrived at the training centre from the airport. Zidane met us in the parking lot by his car, and it was a really nice car, of course. We said hello, and then he offered to drive me over to the field for training. He was pointing at the front seat, like, 'Go on, get in.' But I just froze and I asked, 'Should I take off my shoes?' Hahaha! I don’t know why I said that. But it was Zizou’s car!" Kylian Mbappe writes in The Players' Tribune about meeting his childhood hero Zinedine Zidane for the first time

“I’ve been playing for the national team for a long time now and, for me, it’s still the best – there’s a different feeling than playing for your club. You can feel the millions of people looking to you, wanting you to win, and that’s very special.” Iraq defender Ali Adnan speaks exclusively to FIFA.com about the joy he feels playing for his country on the road to Qatar 2022

In a gesture of sportsmanship, Eibar send a message of praise for Lionel Messi after he scored four goals against them in Barcelona's 5-0 win in La Liga

"I won't wash my clothes after I hugged Messi. I'm very happy to have given my first assist to Leo." Barcelona forward Martin Braithwaite tells Sport that he doesn't plan on washing his kit after hugging captain Messi following their side's win against Eibar

"Messi is incredible, he can do things that you only see on Playstation, but we have to try and stop him." Napoli coach Gennaro Gattuso on Messi ahead of his side's Round of 16 first leg encounter against Barça [Editor's note: The match ended in a 1-1 draw]

"I look at myself and think how incredibly lucky I am. I've come from a really small town in Ireland and I'm not a flair player or anything flash, but I worked hard. If you work hard as a person, believe you can do it and love football, then of course you can do it. I'm an example of that." Republic of Ireland international Louise Quinn speaks with Arsenal.com about her career journey

"She has my sort of personality and she likes to banter and chant Mo Salah’s songs to me. She knows the rivalry between Liverpool and the team that I play for so she's always singing their songs and trying to wind me up but that's just her personality." England and Manchester City star Raheem Sterling reveals to AS that his eight-year-old daughter and Liverpool fan Melody Rose teases him by singing Mohamed Salah chants

"It started off as a joke and it kind of escalated!" Hibernian forward Martin Boyle speaks with Optus Sport about his unlikely journey to playing for the Socceroos

"It’s easier said than done when the house is on fire but I’m blessed with the gift of not getting nervous — ever. I was certain that we could all still play football and get back to our usual levels." Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos talks about the club's disappointing 2018/19 season in an interview with The Athletic

"There was a player who played in Australia [Usain Bolt], but he wasn't that strong with the ball." Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer on whether he has seen a faster player than team-mate Alphonso Davies, after the club's 3-0 win at Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg