Footballer Quotes & Sayings

Pulling on your country's shirt is the greatest honour a footballer can have. It's what I always dreamed of as a kid and I get a buzz every time. — Wayne Rooney

I could have been a professional footballer and trialled with Blackburn Rovers. But I snapped my cruciate ligaments, an injury that has dogged me ever since. — Maurice Flanagan

You have to put all the criticism of this club down to jealousy. United have produced more players who have played for their country, more world-class players and more players who have won European Footballer of the Year than any other team in this country, so we must be doing something right. — Alex Ferguson

I had an early taste of fame. I was 20, going out with TV presenter Dani Behr and we'd have paparazzi chasing us. I'm not comfortable being photographed, though I accept it is part of the job. I had to ask myself, 'What comes first, being a celebrity or footballer?' — Ryan Giggs

Hendrix was the first person I had come across who seemed completely free, and when you're nine or 10, your life is entirely dominated by adults. So he represented this thing that I wanted to be. Hendrix was the first person who made me think it might be good to be a singer and a guitarist - before that I wanted to be a footballer. — Robert Smith

Had I not become a footballer, I think I would have been a virgin. — Peter Crouch

Every professional footballer should seek to play at least one game at Celtic Park. I have never felt anything like it. — Paolo Maldini

I understand football. I have always been a good footballer, and that gets overlooked by most people. — Alan Smith

You rarely come across the complete footballer, but Scholes is as close to it as you can get. One of my regrets is that the opportunity to play alongside him never presented itself during my career. — Zinedine Zidane

There is pressure every day as a footballer. — Jamie Redknapp

A young man, when sliced up by glass From a footballer's tragic mis-pass Said, 'Hey, there's no harm Done; it's only an arm. I'm just thankful it wasn't my arse. — J.L. Merrow

I've been booed in Holland and in Uruguay - as a professional footballer, you need to have thick skin and just get used to it. — Luis Suarez

There is no rule that says a footballer needs to be 'this high' and 'this wide.' — Andres Iniesta

He's one of those footballers whose brains are in his head. — Derek Johnstone

Becoming a footballer is only the first half of the silent prayer a kid offers up to the sky or confides to his teacher in a primary school essay. The second part is the name of the team he wants to play for. — Andrea Pirlo

I don't know what I'd have become if I hadn't been a footballer; I wrote down 'dustbin man' on a careers questionnaire at school till my dad made me change it to 'joiner'. — Alan Shearer

I have never imagined doing anything other than football, but now, thinking about it coldly, if I hadn't been a footballer, I would have been a musician. — Ronaldinho

For years Paul Scholes has been one of the best players in the Premiership. He's incredible. He has always been under-rated throughout his career. He's a team player, a one and two-touch footballer who makes good decisions on the pitch and makes his team play. — Thierry Henry

Footballers are going on strike? When can they start? — Ann Burton

Being married to a footballer is some girls' dream, but it isn't always like that. I work. — Abbey Clancy

Ballet is like football. I don't understand a footballer's technique but I can see when he's playing brilliantly. People don't like ballet because they think they don't understand it. Actually they do. It's the most primitive form of appeal. — Robert Helpmann

If a footballer presents himself as a family man and goes and has sex with a prostitute, should he gag her? — Nicky Campbell

People always talk about Ronaldinho, and everything but I didnt see him today - I saw Henrik Larsson. Two times he came on - he changed the game, that is what killed the game - sometimes you talk about Ronaldinho and Etoo and people like that, you need to talk about the proper footballer who made the difference and that was Henrik Larsson tonight — Thierry Henry

Scholes was playing tiki-taka football when nobody in England knew what it was. He was another of those players, like Denis Law or Bobby Moore, who at 15 probably looked as if he wouldn't make it. Too small, you would think - can't run, dumpy little ginger nut - but then the ball would come to him and he would dazzle you. He was the best footballer in that Manchester United midfield, better than Ryan Giggs and Roy Keane. — Harry Redknapp

There is no excuse for a professional footballer not to be 100% fit. — Jock Stein

Ryan Giggs will go down as the most successful British footballer of all time and I cannot see anyone ever overtaking him. He's on the brink of his 13th league title, after all. — Gary Neville

I've always wanted to be a top footballer since I was young. — Michael Owen

I want to be a footballer - and that means playing on a Saturday afternoon. — Charlie Adam

George Best was one of the most talented players of all time and probably the best footballer who never made it to a major world final. — Franz Beckenbauer

Scholesy was a genius, absolute genius. He was a center-forward's dream, you could make a run and he'd put the ball perfectly in your path. Any footballer you ask will always tell you that Scholesy was one of the best players they've ever played with. — Michael Owen

Nobody expects a footballer to have any kind of an IQ, which is a bit of an unfair stereotype. — Frank Lampard

I wouldn't swap Paul Scholes for anybody. He is quite simply the most complete footballer I have ever played with. He is the best. — Gary Neville

Thirteen years after Basic Instinct, Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone) is now in London, and is going out with a footballer played by Stan Collymore, of all people. On the rebound from John Motson, perhaps. It is difficult to convey just how uproariously awful this movie is, all of the time. — Peter Bradshaw

Well what a turn-up. From professional footballer to television presenter to green politician. Whatever next? — David Icke

At first, they joked about it but as they became more detoxed and more assertive from therapy, paid ironically by the husbands, they began to realize that they each had unique strengths and powers and a burning desire for revenge. Between the Three Wise Women they had an IT expert, an actress and a supermodel, all very wealthy and beautiful. All the three men's' brains appeared to reside in their pants and they wondered if they set a honey trap could it possibly work. A plan was proposed by Felicity and she called it Operation Devastation. Angelina would hack into their MIS computer systems, bug their telephones, offices, cars and homes. Ava would seduce Ryan, who owned Novels and the computer firm, Angelina's husband in a honey trap and get it all on DVD for the divorce court. Then Ava would seduce Felicity's husband, James, the Irish footballer. Finally, Sean who was Felicity's friend who was an out of work actor would seduce Patrick — Annette J. Dunlea

I want to be one of the best players around in two or three years time, to be a decisive footballer. — Cristiano Ronaldo

You're obviously conscious of being brash or big-headed but I always knew I was going to be a footballer when I was seven or eight. I didn't just think I wanted to be one, I knew I was going to be one. Nothing ever surprised me really. — Michael Owen

If you're going to be a footballer, be a great one.If you're going to have a dream, dream big. — Alex Ferguson

Jimmy Greaves and Kenny Dalglish had similar know-how, but Dalglish's knowledge and reading of the game was far superior. He was the most complete footballer in British soccer. — Jimmy Armfield

The most complete footballer in the history of the game. — Eusebio

I've never fancied that footballer lifestyle. I suppose I could live that kind of flash life. People stereotype child actors and kind of expect you to go off the rails a bit, be a bit crazy, but that's not really happened yet. I've got a big family so that helps, and they live really close to the studios so it's just so much easier. — Rupert Grint

Ask any Ferrari, Porsche or Ray-Ban salesperson about their average customer and you will very likely hear that he is not, as the adverts would have us believe, a virile young footballer with shiny hair, a rippling six pack and a trouser pouch like a new punch bag. He is, in fact, a middle-aged bloke wearing more chins than he started life with and carrying the clear evidence of forty years of beer and pies slung across his midriff. — Richard Hammond

There was never any question about Scholesy's quality as a footballer. He was known as the little ginger magician in the youth team. Some reckon he's the best United player of the modern era, and there's a case for saying that. You don't hear him blowing his own trumpet, though - he just gets on with his job. He's the real deal. — Steve Bruce

It was very hard for me as a kid to get through as a footballer in Uruguay. — Luis Suarez

I feel very strong as an individual, but as a famous footballer I know I am prone to certain things. All the media have a continuous interest for me. It varies from once a year to every day interest. — Ruud Van Nistelrooy

Would I swap what I have achieved as a cook if I could have been as successful as a footballer? Definitely. — Gordon Ramsay

Henry is a beautiful player and has got complete technique, I adore watching him. I respect him very much as a man and as a footballer. He reminds me of myself. — Ronaldinho

I'm actually about as famous as a fourth division footballer from the 70s. — Dylan Moran

I see myself as the best footballer in the world. If you don't believe you are the best, then you will never achieve all that you are capable of. — Cristiano Ronaldo

I'm convinced, that when you are a footballer you are a symbol. You have to be a superman in some ways, to send messages to people all the time, to the youth all the time. — Emmanuel Petit

I've played a super soldier, a doctor, a World War II fighter pilot, a professional footballer, and a meth-dealing junkie. All those things allow you to educate yourself about different worlds that you have to get familiar with. — Robert Kazinsky

As an artist, you normally reach your peak of creativity, regardless of whether you are singing or acting, when you develop the greatest possible freedom within very strict boundaries.

For I can't just improvise away while the band's playing something different. I have to say my lines and maintain my position. By the same token a footballer must stick to the rules too.

But the most exciting thing is when people manage, within the rules, to develop a freedom that is unpredictable surprising and simply artistic and marvellous. — Jasmin Tabatabai

Lampard, for me, was a marvellous servant for Chelsea, but I didn't think of him as an elite international footballer. And I am one of the few who felt Gerrard was not a top, top player. — Alex Ferguson

The last player I truly idolize ... No other footballer is more worthy of the number 10 shirt than him.
(on Maradona) — Hristo Stoichkov

Now Jack Charlton wasn't wrong, I was a bad footballer. — Craig Johnston

Having a stadium in France named after a footballer from the Ivory Coast, even if I'm proud of my France-Ivory Coast background, is a great proof of integration. — Didier Drogba

Messi is the best player in the world. If he's not already, he'll be the best footballer of all time. — LeBron James

It is not my place to make judgments about the behavior of any other footballer. Cars and women, things like that, have never been important to me. My family, and my belief in God and Jesus are the things which determine my life. I do want to live my life in the right way, and live my life close to God. — Kaka

I felt like a racehorse in a world without racetracks or a champion college footballer suddenly confronted by Wall Street and a business suit, his days of glory shrunk to a little gold cup on his mantel with a date engraved on it like the date on a tombstone. — Sylvia Plath

I always wanted kids I could take to work, and for them to experience the things I experience. So, having three boys as a footballer was a dream. — David Beckham

Pele was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic. — Osvaldo Ardiles

I would have loved to have been a footballer like my great uncle Matt Busby, but I knew quite early on that I wasn't going to make the grade. Luckily I was told by the age of 13 that I wasn't good enough. That's not a bad thing. You see this 'X Factor' generation of kids now who don't accept that they're not good enough. — Brendan Coyle

I'm a working class lad. So at 25, and with no-one in our family having any theatrical inclination, when I said, 'I'm going to scratch all that and become an actor,' I may as well have said I was going to be a Premiership footballer for the chance I'd have. — Rob James-Collier

Footballers are slaves. I know this from the personal experience of being a footballer. — Sepp Blatter

Beckham in Paris will certainly be good for shopping. I love this player but he is not the footballer he was. And if he comes to Paris now it will be to do something other than football. — Michel Patini

I could never get bored talking about him, he was my favourite player. I loved watching him because he did everything you'd want to see in a footballer. He could dictate the pace of a game; he could take it by the scruff of the neck and control it; he could score decisive goals; he could make the killer pass; he could switch the play, open teams up, slow the game down, quicken it up; whatever was needed. He would take the ball anywhere on the pitch He was such a selfless footballer, too Scholesy was the man, all right. — Rio Ferdinand

I tend to get starstruck with sports people. I was on a chat show with retired Scottish footballer Denis Law and I just lost it and couldn't talk to him. — Martin Shaw

Pele really had everything - goalscoring ability, a great passer, good in the air, quick, he used both feet, almost the perfect footballer. Many words have been written about Pele but his record speaks for itself -more than 1,000 goals and three World Cup victories. He also played at a time when attacking players were not protected by referees as much as they are today. — Osvaldo Ardiles

If you cut me in half, I'm a footballer. — Michael Owen

Even as a footballer, I was always being creative. — Eric Cantona

I spend time with my family. I have got two daughters who are too young to know their Dad's a footballer. They just want to play with their Dad. I like to play golf, too, but apart from that, that's me, I'm afraid. — Alan Shearer

We won't ever see another one like Paul Scholes. He is a legend and a real benchmark. He is not interested in the modern-day footballer's life off the pitch, but he is a world-class player on it — Darren Fletcher

Ronaldo can do whatever he wants as a footballer. There are some things he does with the ball that make me touch my head and wonder how he did it. — Cristiano Ronaldo

The money footballers earn today is incredulous — Bobby Gould

To any young kid who wants to be a footballer, I would simply say: Have fun playing football and enjoy the team - spirit. That's the right attitude; that will bring you pleasure and fulfillment in football. A baker cannot live on bread he made yesterday, and a footballer cannot live on his last game. It's about the here and now. — Jurgen Klinsmann

Originally, I wanted a pop career and formed a girl-band 'Genie Queen' managed by Andy McClusky from 'Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark', but it didn't work out. My brother John is the talented singer and song-writer with 'The Razz,' while my other brother Sean is a footballer for Telford United. — Abbey Clancy

As footballers, we have time on our hands. Yes, we work very hard but we also have spare afternoons. — Joleon Lescott

Not just me but every professional footballer will tell you they miss playing the game, I miss the game especially as I retired early, not because I was a bad player but I retired solely for health reasons. — Fabrice Muamba

The lifestyle I lead as a footballer means I am always in the spotlight. — Wayne Rooney

The way I look at it, a footballer wouldn't play in flip-flops or dip their feet in acid and then expect to get to David Beckham's level. My voice is my living, so I'll be looking after it. — Jessie J.

The other side of the coin is that fans can panic players into making poor decisions. The more unsettled a crowd gets, the worse the football on show will become - I've seen it a million times. Certain grounds have a reputation. Whenever I've played at Wolverhampton Wanderers or West Ham United , every manager has said "Keep this lot quiet for 20 minutes, and their fans will start getting on their back". — The Secret Footballer

As a private person I think I am now totally different from Ruud van Nistelrooy the footballer. — Ruud Van Nistelrooy

My parents were skeptical about me becoming a footballer and encouraged me to study. — Carles Puyol

Beckham is unusual. He was desperate to be a footballer. His mind was made up when he was nine or ten. Many kids think that it's beyond them. But you can't succeed without practising at any sport. — Bobby Charlton

Footballers wives are like leeches, feeding off their partners success. I don't want to be a footballer's wife. — Jamelia

More than anyone, I am aware of the preconceptions. I was a Spice Girl. I'm married to a footballer. — Victoria Beckham

I look at Messi, and he makes me laugh. A beautiful footballer who is still like a kid. A world superstar, but still a kid. Innocent, you know. He just plays. — Johan Cruyff

It's impossible to be more of a footballer than Messi. — Frank Rijkaard

Every footballer wants to play forever. And if you are going to keep on playing - to enjoy it to the full - you want to win games, and as a result, trophies. — Ryan Giggs

If you want to be a professional footballer, you have to respect your profession. You have to respect the people that are making you the star you are. You have to protect the passion everyday. — Emmanuel Petit

Being a footballer is not just about wearing the shirt and playing football on the pitch. You have to be clean, you have to do right things, you have to show courage, you have to show many many things you know. I always say that you play the same way on the pitch as you do in life. — Emmanuel Petit

I got injured when I was a kid, and it prevented me from becoming a footballer. — Matt Smith

Real Madrid is the most important thing that happened to me, both as a footballer and as a person. — Zinedine Zidane

The Greatest" is a bite-your-tongue-book. Ultimately a tragic tale it is also immensely uplifting and easily the best footballer biography I have ever read. — Mike Parry

The street is the best way to become a good footballer. — Michel Patini

I'm a footballer, I don't think past next Saturday. — Joleon Lescott

I started out in Scotland, not as a footballer of any note, and I didn't play to draw the attention of people abroad. — Walter Smith

As a footballer's wife, I take great exception to the way we are portrayed in Footballers' Wives. — Karren Brady

As a footballer, you always want to test yourself against the best. — David Beckham

I'd have loved to have been a footballer. I was always playing football and I enjoyed it much more than tennis to begin with. It's more fun to play in a team, all the parents are there cheering you on. — Andy Murray