“Zidane is probably the best player there has been in the past 20 years. France have recovered the best Zidane and they have progressively grown throughout this tournament.”

I have a need to play intensely every day, to fight every match hard.

Real Madrid is the most important thing that happened to me, both as a footballer and as a person.

I love Madrid. I am happy to be here. I have been here three years and hope to be here longer. But I am proud of where I come from and never forget the people I grew up with.

The door can never be closed for good to any player.

Zidane was from another planet. When Zidane stepped onto the pitch, the 10 other guys just got suddenly better. It is that simple.

I was lucky to come from a difficult area. It teaches you not just about football but also life. There were lots of kids from different races and poor families. People had to struggle to get through the day.

My memories of events and games are fragmented.

I am supposed to set an example to young players.

Obviously fashion is a completely different world from football.

You can’t get bored of winning. You can win 10 games in a row but you keep the same will to snatch the 11th. You always need more.

Zidane is the master. Over the past 10 years, there’s been no-one like him, he has been the best player in the world.

If you are determined and confident, there is nothing in this great existence that can stop you from achieving what you want.

I have never had the opportunity to play in England, so I know little about it.

Scholes is undoubtedly the best midfielder of his generation.

When your own fans whistle and jeer, then you have a big problem.

Messi is the Mozart of football.

The best work happens when you know that it’s not just work, but something that will improve other people’s lives.

Man, being reasonable, must get drunk; the best of life is but intoxication.

What destroys us most effectively is not a malign fate but our own capacity for self-deception and for degrading our own best self.

Of all the home remedies, a good wife is best.

We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages. We’re English, and the English are best at everything.

I learned that i was either crazy in love with you, or putting on the best performance of my life.’ -nora (pg 263)

What I love best in life is new starts.

A person always doing his or her best becomes a natural leader, just by example.