Diego Forlan

“I had wanted to play for Penarol since I was a boy. When I was young, I would go to their training ground, but at 18, I left Uruguay for Argentina, and my professional career started.”

“Football has changed, and so has the relationship between the players on the pitch. Where once some players would try everything to distract opponents, now it's harder. There are TV cameras everywhere, which have much higher quality images than before. There are lip readers in studios working out what you are saying to each other.”

“Every player loves to score goals, but hat-tricks should be savoured, as they don't happen very often.”

“Luis Suarez is one of the best players in the national team - and in the world, in fact.”

“Competition keeps you young. It motivates you. It challenges your ego. Messi and Ronaldo have this with each other.”

“Winning the Europa League with Atletico Madrid and then reaching a semi-final of the World Cup is great.”

“Ancelotti is one of the best coaches and has proved this by winning trophies.”

“I wake up at 7 A.M. each morning and work out with a personal trainer.”

“It was a privilege to enjoy the national team and be part of a group that gave so much to our country, wear the shirt with great people.”

“If nerves undo you, then you're unlikely to make it as a top footballer.”

“Although I will not always play well, I always give everything on the pitch.”

“The passionate fans, pumped full of adrenalin, think they own their club and, by extension, the players because they play for their club. They don't. It is the club who 'own' the player, and only while he is under contract.”

“When Atletico wanted to sell me, I was told that I earned too much money and they wanted me off the wage bill. I liked that honesty.”

“Time moves on for everyone.”

“I found it difficult when I first started to travel around the world as a footballer. Hotels go from places you are excited to stay in to places you get tired of pretty quickly.”

“In England, the club presidents do not seek publicity or have a high profile. In Spain, they like to be considered the most important person at the club.”

“We're a small country, and if you look at it that way, then we're at a disadvantage, though I know that most of the players who know or have come up against Uruguayans prefer to avoid us.”

“Japan is a country that works well. The trains, buses, and planes stick to their timetables. When you try to change the schedule of anything, it can confuse.”

“Other Brazilians who've gone to Europe haven't always settled so quickly. Neymar has.”

“I've played as a lone striker and enjoyed it, especially if you have good supporting players around you. But a full season by myself? That would be hard.”