"I'm very proud of all the career I've had with the national team."

"Football is a very passionate world."

"I know words sometimes have consequences, but I try to choose the correct words every time."

"The only problem is that there are a lot of people here in Catalonia who want to separate from Spain and a lot of people who don't want to. We are talking about 50-50, more or less, and that is why it is difficult."

"Politics is always a difficult thing to talk about because, like football, the views are radical. You think this way; that guy thinks the opposite way. It is, like, nearly a fight, and feelings are very strong."

"I think the Catalonian people really identify with Barcelona - the fans are really proud of the team and the club."

"I think, for Catalonia, FC Barcelona means a lot because it is one of the top clubs in the world, and that means that it's a way to show what Catalonia is in the world."

"I am trying to live as natural as I can with my son."

"Not everything, always, is about your performance. It's about the team performance. When the team is not playing well, then normally, you will not play well. It's all about the team."

"It's a responsibility when you have won as much as I have done, as much as the teams I have played for have done: then the fans are waiting for more."

"I remember, when I arrived in England, a lot of people said that my style of play was not for England."

"It's essential to have equilibrium in your life."

"My style suits Barcelona's style of play."

"I don't want to be in the public eye so much that you reach the point where everyone has an opinion about you."

"Shakira has a very great career, knows a lot, and has taught me a lot. She came into my life to transform it, and that makes me very happy."

"I've done most of my career with Barca, with the exception of the period I played for Manchester United."

"Real Madrid are such an immense team - a big, big club."

"When you're playing for a great team like Madrid, with a lot of pressure because you have to win every game, it's a difficult life."

"I always think that the best players can fit in any team, no matter the style of the team."

"I am very proud of my three years there, of having decided to go to Manchester first - at 17, it was the perfect time for me to leave home because it helped make me as a person."

"I am proud to have been part of a Sir Alex Ferguson team."

"With Messi, we're talking about the best player in the world. It doesn't matter if he's a little bit injured: he can still change everything."

"I consider that, in a democracy, everyone has the right to decide. If people don't have the right to express what they feel, we would be going back to a bygone era."

"I love '80s music, but in the dressing room, it tends to be more lively!"

"My routine prior to a big game is the same for any other match. Eat, sleep, chat with teammates during the day, and then, as the match draws near, I listen to my music on the trip to the stadium and zone in."

"Cristiano Ronaldo has not changed since we were both at Manchester United."

"I have not betrayed Barca, and I'm surprised anyone would doubt my commitment to Barcelona, because I've been a fan since birth."

"It is very difficult to find a player who stays at the same club for the whole of their career."

"You try to do the best for your club, and you also create relationships and friendships - with Neymar, my relationship is really strong."

"I have always said that to play for the national team is a pride and a great motivation."

"I would like to change the refereeing system. The pressure that is put on an official in a match is too large."

"In order to eliminate injustices and to ensure there would be less controversy, I would introduce technology that would make refereeing better."

"Besides what he does on the field, one must thank Messi's human quality."

"I am privileged and very happy to be a professional sportsperson, but should that make people so angry?"

"The majority of Espanyol supporters are polite, but there are always rowdy minorities."

"Barcelona is my life, and I do not plan to leave."

"In a match between Barca and Madrid, there are no favourites. It does not matter how they have been faring."

"Experience says it's not easy to find a center back for Barca."

"There won't be more Messis, and we don't expect there to be more, as there won't be another generation in La Masia like the one with Xavi, Busi, Puyol, Iniesta and me."

"You're not always at your best."

"Everybody knows that footballers have text groups on WhatsApp. I have one just for my friends from home, and I have another just for my Barca team-mates."

"At Barcelona, we didn't do gym work until the age of 18. That was really hard."

"Sometimes you're more involved in controversy, and at other times, you're disconnected."

"I hope to keep being competitive until I retire, and I hope that's here. It's Barca or nothing."

"Players like Neymar are great for football."

"I have to devote my time and thoughts to training and playing."

"Messi often has a crowd of opponents around him, but with Neymar on the pitch, too, at least two of those opposition players will have to be aware of him."

"I want to be president of Barcelona - that's my dream."

"I'm not cut out to be a coach."

"I arrived when I was a kid; I was just 17. I would have liked to have played more, but I learned a lot in Manchester."