Dani Alves

“A national team is a reflection of its country's football, and both Brazil and Argentina have earned respect for what they've achieved.”

“I like happiness, and when people try to destroy that, it winds me up.”

“Messi is much better than Cristiano Ronaldo.”

“In life, you have to weigh everything up, even when they are just decisions about your career.”

“Players earn their wages, their livelihoods, and their right to compete to win things out on the pitch and not off it.”

“When you have experienced players, you don't tremble when it comes to playing in a hostile atmosphere or under pressure.”

“Leo Messi is a little football God. I love playing alongside him. We understand each other without needing to talk.”

“Having my friends close to me is always a pleasure, a great honour.”

“People are marked down for their age - once you get past 30, people look at you a bit funny. When you get to 35, the questions are all, 'When are you going to stop?' Calm down!”

“I always think about life, and I think that we are here with a mission, and once we have done our mission, we go somewhere else.”

“I think we always look up to legends and people who not only win but give us a larger than life role model... I think Michael Jordan is this, someone who became bigger than his sport.”

“I have faced many, but the most annoying was James Milner. He follows you forward and follows you backwards. It's very difficult because he attacks you and defends you, and then attacks you and defends you again.”

“I respect people with high levels of self-esteem.”

“I sometimes think that life is a circle. See, I cannot get away from genius. At Barca, I had Messi. At Juve, I have Paulo Dybala. Genius follows me everywhere, I swear.”

“Everything Neymar does turns into news. If he gets emotional, they criticise. If he colours his hair, they criticise.”

“I've already promised that I want to end my career where I started it, as a way of thanking those who gave me the chance to make my name in football. I want to have a spell there before I retire, but one that's enjoyable for me and for them, too.”

“I know that if the people close to me are happy, I am happy, and I can do my job better.”

“I think that my team is more important than me.”

“From God, I have the strength and intelligence to have alternatives and can live even without football.”

“Guardiola improved me a lot as a footballer. He taught me a lot of things, and that's why, in every interview I'm asked, I always say the same thing: He is the best manager that I have worked with.”