“When I was a kid, I thought my dad was a little bit harsh with me at times. Sometimes I needed an arm around me instead of my dad telling me what I did wrong, but it obviously worked.”

I haven’t retired from international football – I still believe I have a part to play in the future of England.

I have got this obsessive compulsive disorder where I have to have everything in a straight line, or everything has to be in pairs.

I just want people to see me as a hard-working footballer and someone who is passionate about the game.

One thing will not change – we will be going out to win.

Wayne’s like my son, Brooklyn, who goes out in the garden to play and have fun.

My priority is always the family and Victoria [Beckham] and I always ensure we are there for our children. We work hard but family comes first.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Being at a club that supported me meant a lot.

That was in the past – we’re in the future now.

I didn’t want to go there [America] at 34 years old and for people to say he’s only going for the money. It’s not what I’m going out there to do

I’ve always come back from adversity, and I’ve always had the mentality of proving people wrong.

You will go through tough times, it’s about getting through them.

With United, we’d all grown up together, we all wanted to win the biggest trophy in football. We did it togther.

[Meeting Mandela] was the highlight of my career; to meet such a great man and a strong man and such a passionate man about sport and life will always stay with me.

I’m not silly enough to think I’m going to change the whole culture … but I do have a belief that soccer can go to a different level.

To have a successful team, you have to have great players of course – but you have to have good personalities and good people as well.

No. No. I don’t listen to anyone except my … inner child anyway. If someone had said to me, Amy, lose a stone which they wouldn’t – I don’t think I would have listened anyway.

When you’re around kids you can be a little kid yourself and pretend that life is magic and you don’t have to be one of those sweaty people going to work every day.

I like someone who’s not afraid to be a kid!

See the world with the innocence of children. Approach the world with the daring of children. Love the world with the readiness of children. Heal the world with the purity of children. Change the world with the wisdom of children.

No matter how old you are, if a little kid hands you a toy phone, you answer it.

We can seldom get our children to do what we tell them, but they almost never fail to imitate us.

When you’re young, you’re not afraid of what comes next. You’re excited by it.

I think I’m playing grown up because I have kids now. But I don’t feel grown up yet.