Quotes

To see the ball, to run after it, makes me the happiest man in the world.

I do not play football to win the Ballon d'Or. I play football to be happy, because I love it and want to play football.

For me soccer provides so many emotions, a different feeling every day. I've had the good fortune to take part in major competitions like the Olympics, and winning the World Cup was also unforgettable. We lost in the Olympics and won in the World Cup, and I'll never forget either feeling.

If you are first you are first. If you are second, you are nothing.

Every year I try to grow as a player and not get stuck in a rut. I try to improve my game in every way possible. But that trait is not something I’ve worked on, it’s part of me.

You can learn more from the lows than the highs. The highs are great but the lows make you really look at things in a different way and want to improve. Every player will have both in their careers and I have, but what you get is that experience which is so important to perform at your best.

People trash talk me. I've heard so much s--- over the years: 'F---ing gypsy', stuff about my mum -- all that stuff. I retaliate with my body, not with words.

Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.

I want to keep improving, continue to help my teammates improve, make my teammates look good. Continue bringing something new to the game, never getting completely content and always trying to get better.