Football is good, but family, close friends, my brothers - I have family everywhere - is the most important thing.

I like it when I am in the middle; I am closer to the ball. The manager wants me to pass, to make assists, create chances, and I do more because I think the position is more central, and I don't ask all the time for the ball at my feet.

I'd played some very good games, at Manchester United, at Tottenham Hotspur, but they'd lacked a goal. There've been times when I could have scored myself, but I've played a pass to a team-mate instead.

Any strengthening of the squad, in a League and Champions League which demands so much, is a good thing because you need many top quality players.

I can still take the hits; it's not a problem for me. I accept the blows. I can take the punches like a boxer.

The more you play against teams and defenders, the more you get to know them. You know if they are more nervous; you know, on the pitch, people are different. I try to adapt to their character.

I have always been small, so defenders have always been taller and tougher than me. So that's difficult for me; they foul me sometimes, but there you are - that's what the rules of the game are for.

I always liked No. 10 because I loved Zidane. He was my role model. I always wanted to play like him.

When I get the ball with my back to goal, I like to be in touching contact. I need to feel the guy. He will try to take the ball, and I will go past him.

I have always thought if there is a game, and there have been a lot of fouls on me, then I have been playing well for the team, so that means we're having a good match. You can win a free-kick when there's a foul, and that's a chance to score a goal.

It is always good to be on the scoresheet.

I've had more ups than downs in my career. All you can do is keep working. You still have to take enjoyment out of what you're doing, and things will turn, and my smile has always been there. In good moments and bad.

People were saying, 'He's worth £32m? He tried a back-heel and fell over!' Even I laughed. In my head, I said, 'OK, you've seen the bad side, now come see the good side'.

You question yourself all the time as a footballer. You have to focus on the positives.

The FA Cup is something we want to win, but when you play for Chelsea, it is not something you think about a lot because you want to win every game.

I know how to make the difference. When I make the difference, I often do it at the end of the match, and that shows that I am fresh.

Chelsea have made a good investment for me, but I did not put any pressure on them.

At 21, Real Madrid or Barcelona would have been more difficult for me. If I play well enough at Chelsea, I could win my place in the starting team, and my priority is to play.

If you told me to choose between family and football, then it is no choice. I take family, of course, like everyone. But I prefer to keep it private, and that's it. I just focus on the football.

The Champions League is the one thing missing from my career. When I look at the history of the competition and the people that have taken part, the top, top players have all won it. For many, it is why they have been regarded as top players.

Out of all the clubs who were interested, I got the feeling that, deep down, Chelsea showed that they really wanted me. There were lots of reasons I came to Chelsea. They showed a real desire to get me to come here. I didn't have to think about it too much.

I'm somebody who can laugh even at myself. That happens now and again, when I've made a mess of really simple things.

That's my mentality. Just because somebody has fouled me, there is no reason for me to be nasty to him. I try to respect football as much as possible, and when someone is injured, you put the ball out.

It never became an obsession for me to score at all costs. I've always said that I'm not a big scorer, I'm a worker.