As German players we have something special inside us, because of our football history. We know we have to win, it is what is expected, so we have a good focus.

I like Daniel Sturridge a lot after playing with him at Chelsea.

Winning the league is one thing but for me it was always the dream to win the Champions League.

When you're 29 and you've already got family, it's important that they feel comfortable.

Experienced national players deserve at least some respect and loyalty.

The main reason to come to England and Chelsea was to play with a great team. Money and the chance to live in a city like London are additional factors.

I can imagine finishing my career at Chelsea.

Mesut is an amazing player.

If you are a top player in England, the cult around you is bigger than in Germany.

Playing for Chelsea I have to be more ruthless than in the German team, where I have managed to earn myself a different status over the years.

I don't want to look back on my career at some point and say, 'What a pity, I came close a few times, but it was never good enough.'

To pass on your ideas and have an influence on a team really interests me.

I've always reflected on the game.

I was able to play for and captain my country.

I played at the highest level throughout my career and I'm happy about that.

In training, for example, when you feel your position on the team is in danger then you have to be fully focused.

That's what counts for you as a player if you are on a high salary and you are earning, let's say, enough money, which you normally can't spend in your lifetime. It's something you should really think about - where you play, what level you play, the audience.

You love what you do but it's still a job and you are limited in the time to earn money and you think about it if someone makes you a crazy offer.

Football in Europe is No. 1 - that is what everyone watches because the best players in the world compete in this area.

Of course, South Americans are different from Europeans; I knew that when we played them.

I am happy to play in the Premier League. It's a competition which encourages players to give only their very best week in, week out and you have to be 100%.

We will give everything for the FA Cup, Champions League and Premier League.

You always need time to adapt to a new manager. But in football if you don't get a result, you are under pressure.

The coach is the first person who is under pressure but when a new manager comes you should give him time.

There must be some tensions in a team, which you can't always wipe away or smooth over.

I did not win anything at Leverkusen so to win six titles in four years with Bayern shows the move was worthwhile.

I've had ups and downs in my career, and if you look at it as a bookmaker, the odds of me becoming a world champion were never in my favour, but I never stopped believing in myself and never stopped trying.

I'm a fighter through and through, and I've got more heart and more determination than anybody.

I've beaten a lot of great fighters, but people say the big ones, I've lost them all. I don't want to go down as a guy who loses his big fights.

Best move is probably the flying knee I used in the Ultimate Fighter semi-final v Ross Pointon in 2006.

What matters - the only thing that matters - is winning. It's nice to entertain the fans and to gain new ones, especially from the States, but on the night... that's all that matters.

I'm generally an optimist, but of course, when you've been with the UFC for a decade and still not had a title shot, there is a little part of you that wonders if it will ever happen.

Ultimately, when two professionals meet, I don't really see the location as being a defining factor. If you're a psychologically weak fighter, maybe it would be. But if you're a seasoned pro, it doesn't really come into it.

I haven't seen any of the Cung Le movies, but I have seen the Cung Le Q&A that he did in San Jose, and I've got to say that was pretty hard to watch. That was pretty cringeworthy. Listen: stick to kicking; sticking to kicking eggs and setting Guinness World Records, because entertaining a crowd certainly isn't your thing.

I'm not homophobic in the slightest. I have lots of gay friends.

I don't need others to push me. I push myself.

As a fighter, you know when you connect with a really good shot because you feel the impact on your fist.

I often put my foot in it a little bit sometimes.

A lot of Americans say the food in England sucks. I don't think the food in England sucks - the food is great - but I've got to say, the Americans have got the dining out experience nailed down.

Fighting is different than other sports because you're not competing as regularly.

If a football player has a bad game, he's allowed to do that because he plays once or twice a week. With fighting, it's once every few months.

Some people are born for a certain thing. And for me, unfortunately, I wish it was something a bit more artistic or whatever, but I was a born fighter. That's what kept me coming back. It makes me feel alive. And, I just know, there is nothing I do better in this world than fight.

I went to college and did advanced electronical engineering, not really knowing what I wanted to do. It bored me to death, so I dropped out.

I worked in factories, slaughterhouses, as an upholsterer. I did demolition work, was a postman, was a tiler, a plasterer. I even sold double-glazing door-to-door. But I always dreamed of being a world champion, first of all as a boxer.

For so many years, people have used the expression 'poster boy of British MMA,' but I've never seen myself as that; I certainly never described myself as that.

You've got to sell fights; you've got to be entertaining.

Omelettes, I'd say, are my secret weapon in terms of diet: I love them, they're nice and easy to make, they're very nutritious, and they're low in carbs.

I want to be the first British person to lift a UFC World Title.

I want to be world champion, and that's why I've worked for an entire lifetime to get here.

Financially, I've done very well doing what I do. I've got plenty of money in the bank. I've got gigs with FOX doing analyst work, media work. The UFC has been very kind to me. Ultimately, however, I want to be world champion. I have to achieve that to validate my entire career.