Dries Mertens

“Me, all-time topscorer - who would have thought that when I signed for Napoli?”

“I love playing for this team, the fans want me to play for Napoli.”

“I received an offer from China: I would've earned an incredible sum. But Napoli didn't want me to go, and I wanted to stay. So nothing came of it.”

“Sarri taught me football. He is a coach I really like, well-prepared and even scientific in the way he analyses games.”

“In the first season with Sarri I only played six games as a starter.”

“I know I'm not a Lionel Messi or a Cristiano Ronaldo.”

“My dad reads everything about me.”

“I am happy at Napoli.”

“I am not Lionel Messi, I'm not Maradona, I'm just Dries and I'm happy with that.”

“Football in Italy is crazy and the people are very crazy, too, so I think we are used to it.”

“I have had so many fine moments in Naples, but the first that comes to mind is when I signed the contract. I immediately loved this city and these wonderful people.”

“It's not easy to be on a diet when you play for Napoli - the food is really good.”

“My initials are D.M., just like Diego Maradona. And just like him, I want to be remembered by the people of Naples.”

“My father drove a bus in Anderlecht and he took me to training every day in Brussels from when I was 11 to 18.”

“I have so much respect for when my parents did. They did not raise me talking about money and I would have disappointed them if I went to China.”

“I'm not going to lay about after my career. My wife will work, too.”

“I have become a bargain - where do you find a player who scores 28 goals in Serie A and costs €28m? Nowhere, right?”

“I'm a player who can score and assist, even if I know I'll have to help out defensively too.”

“I was still on the bench at the beginning in Naples, then I started to play and I wanted to enjoy my moments. I worked so hard to get into the team and I didn't want to leave - that would have been too easy.”

“Neapolitan people are always outside. They are not in front of the television.”