Online, your quotes can now be picked up around the world, twisted, translated, and interpreted to mean the opposite of what you have actually said.
— Diego Forlan
I found it difficult when I first started to travel around the world as a footballer. Hotels go from places you are excited to stay in to places you get tired of pretty quickly.
The passionate fans, pumped full of adrenalin, think they own their club and, by extension, the players because they play for their club. They don't. It is the club who 'own' the player, and only while he is under contract.
If nerves undo you, then you're unlikely to make it as a top footballer.
Football doesn't do sentiment well; it's a cruel profession.
Japan is a country that works well. The trains, buses, and planes stick to their timetables. When you try to change the schedule of anything, it can confuse.
As a player, if a club is desperate to sign you, then you can benefit from that. Desperate clubs are prepared to pay more money; they are prepared to act decisively and play you.
I had wanted to play for Penarol since I was a boy. When I was young, I would go to their training ground, but at 18, I left Uruguay for Argentina, and my professional career started.
Ronaldo can score every type of goal. He can use both feet, his head, take free kicks, finish from close range or outside the box. He has everything.
When I see some of the pitches which my father played on, I think that it must have been a different game.
The Italian Fabio Cannavaro, who was with Real Madrid when I played against him several times, was the best player in the world in 2006. He wasn't tall, but very quick and strong. He always knew his opponents well, as if he'd researched them.
As a footballer, it can be enjoyable to do a proper interview where you trust the journalist to reproduce your thoughts.
My compatriot Diego Godin is one of the best defenders in the world, good enough to play for any team in any league.
Cristiano Ronaldo joined United a year after me. He was ultra-confident, with the talent to back it up. He was dedicated, too, and practised as hard as anyone after training. You could tell that he wanted to be a great player, the greatest.
My best years were 2010 and 2011, and the 2010 World Cup was the most incredible experience. Our tiny nation reached the semi-finals, I finished joint-top scorer in South Africa, and my goal against Germany was voted the best of the tournament. I was also named the best player of that World Cup.
Every manager goes through bad times.
Even as a kid, I'd kick a tennis ball against a wall with both feet for hours. That was one way to become two-footed.
Some players don't like to speak to the media or prefer to talk on live television so people can hear for themselves what is said, in real time.
There were no Manchester United fans protesting when I left their club in 2005. I wasn't one of their most important players, so I moved on, worked really hard, got my breaks, and my career took off.
In the World Cup finals, you're unlikely to meet a continental rival. In Copa America, you know they are just around the corner and that you will have to beat them to win the competition.
When Atletico wanted to sell me, I was told that I earned too much money and they wanted me off the wage bill. I liked that honesty.
It's hard to know when to call it a day as a footballer.
The Japanese people and their country left a huge impression on my wife and I, and we found it difficult to say goodbye before moving back to South America.
Big clubs with one rich owner have been one of the main changes in football since I started playing.
Strikers love to play with other strikers, as I did with Sergio Aguero, Luis Suarez, and Edinson Cavani. You can make the most of your individual talents for the good of the team. If you can strike up a good partnership with another player, it's like striking gold.
Competition keeps you young. It motivates you. It challenges your ego. Messi and Ronaldo have this with each other.
Football has changed, and so has the relationship between the players on the pitch. Where once some players would try everything to distract opponents, now it's harder. There are TV cameras everywhere, which have much higher quality images than before. There are lip readers in studios working out what you are saying to each other.
Nobody comes back from a serious injury and is the same after a month or even three months. You should play in the reserves; you get your muscle back and regain your match rhythm. Psychologically, you need to build your confidence back up and you hope there are no complications. Even in a settled side, it's hard.
At Inter Milan, I agreed to play on the wing and didn't like it.
To score is always special; to score in the Bernabeu for Atletico is incredible.
'Seba' Veron was one of the best players I shared a dressing room with. Not only was he technically gifted and could pass the ball accurately over distance, not only could he anticipate where players would run, but he also ran himself.
I played 112 times for Uruguay and experienced some of the greatest moments in my life representing my country.
In England, the club presidents do not seek publicity or have a high profile. In Spain, they like to be considered the most important person at the club.
I can't recall playing for a team who weren't involved in a fight for points at the end of the season. That would be strange for me.
I have played international games two days after travelling around the world. Your body clock is all over the place, and you are waking up at 4 AM. But once a game starts, then your adrenalin kicks in, and you seem to forget the tiredness.
Players should get the best deals for themselves whenever they can. Football is a relatively short career.
I love the Copa America. It showcases all the classic rivalries of South America, all those neighbours, up against each other.
It's not easy for a coach to deal with a player who is in slow decline.
I went to Japan to experience a new culture, and I would recommend that any footballer does that. But the main reason I went was to play football.
As a footballer, I have always found it better not to be too emotional. Better to be cool, consistent, clinical. Celebrate goals, yes, but keep your feelings for those you trust most.
People have high expectations of me, and I want to fulfil them.
I've played as a lone striker and enjoyed it, especially if you have good supporting players around you. But a full season by myself? That would be hard.
I am not saying that I am at the same level as Messi or Ronaldo. They are the best two players in the world, but I am very proud that I managed to finish above them in the goalscoring charts, especially as I was playing for Atletico Madrid, not Barcelona or Real Madrid.
Two English defenders were among the finest I played against: John Terry and Rio Ferdinand.
I'm friendly - I've never changed - but some people can be intimidated to approach you, especially younger footballers.
I'm happy to play as a centre forward or a second striker, like in the national team with Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani.
Atletico fans were always so desperate for us to win; it was like a religion to them.
Ancelotti is one of the best coaches and has proved this by winning trophies.
People seem to love or hate Mourinho, but players tend to love him.
I have never been at a club where the players talked so much about a previous manager as they did about Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan.
