Frank Rijkaard

“It's not for nothing that they say it's easier to get to the top than to stay at the top.”

“Someone said that my coaching is a combination of Milan's defensive discipline and the Dutch propensity for attacking football, and I think that is a fair description.”

“It would not be honest if I did a review, because I've worked with Leo Messi, whom I consider the best player I've seen. I cannot comment or compare with Cristiano Ronaldo because I have not worked with him. That is not to say that I do not have as much respect for Cristiano as a footballer.”

“I had a lot of success, of course, but whatever was achieved was due to a group effort on the part of all the players.”

“My aim is to get the team to work hard and stay strong together.”

“Manchester United is a world-famous club, and yet if you say, 'Manchester United,' then immediately you think of Sir Alex Ferguson. To have achieved so much and have so much importance at such a big club is extremely rare.”

“I'm not a guy who believes in revenge.”

“It is very tough to beat an English team. The type of football they play is only in the Premier League. They defend as though their lives depend on it. And they are very successful.”

“No person is the same, and so you can't treat each player identically.”

“We can be confident about our qualities, but the qualities need something to come out.”

“I understand very well that if you are a national coach, you want to use all the opportunities that you have to meet up with your team.”

“One thing was crystal clear to me: if you're centre-back, you first of all have to perform your task.”

“He's an incredible person. Messi is not simply a uniquely talented footballer. He's also strong mentally, very bright, and exceptionally dedicated to his job. Personally speaking, I enjoy watching him play, and I'm deeply proud of him and what he has achieved. Quite simply, he's the best.”

“If you want to come out of a sad moment, you have to work really hard.”

“It's normal that if you are working with a lot of people, then you have a lot of different mentalities and characters. You have the serious guy, and you have the one who is always complaining and the one who is always talking. Everyone is different.”

“I see a lot of fouls on Messi, and he's not the type to overreact.”

“You see a lot of managers who are working and yet are already talking about other countries and other teams. But that's not for me.”

“Mourinho follows his personality - staying close to his own way - he chooses that, and he has been very successful with it. I can only have respect for that.”

“He was always brilliant, but when Pep Guardiola started to use him as a 'false' No. 9, he got even better. It's impossible to be more of a footballer than Messi.”

“It's my belief that Barcelona are successful because they have a number of youth teams alongside the first team. They are where it begins.”