Gary Lineker

“The best, most successful managers in the modern era are those who can keep a player happy even if he is not in the team. Given the size of the squads and the use of rotation nowadays, that's tougher than it's ever been.”

“Being called Gary. It's a crap name. I wish I'd been called by my middle name, Winston.”

“We are living in difficult times. There are a lot of people out of work - am I going to stand there and whinge? No, because I am lucky to have such a wonderful job.”

“The World Cup is every four years, so it's going to be a perennial problem.”

“People are fed up with the way things are. There is a lot of bitterness out there, a lot of anger about a lack of jobs and concerns for the next generation.”

“I watched Leicester City lose in the 1969 FA Cup final with my dad and granddad when I was eight and cried all the way home. I have seen them get promoted and relegated. I played for them for eight years. I even got a group of like-minded fans and friends to stump up a few quid to salvage the club when they went into liquidation.”

“Some players are quite homely, and they don't see themselves going abroad; others would relish the challenge. I can only speak personally, but I always wanted the challenge, and to go and live in a place like Barcelona was great.”

“My wife Danielle and I love travelling, different cultures and good weather.”

“You've got no chance of reaching the top if you're just playing for money.”

“Basically, Walkers are putting real produce into their flavours, so the cheese and onion flavour is actually cheese and onion rather than just flavourings.”

“Twitter is an amazing thing; it brings footballers closer to the fans because so many of them are on there. I was cynical about it to begin with, but I have been converted.”

“Most of my best games were when I felt crap - I could hardly move on the morning of the World Cup semi-final in 1990 - but there's a thing called adrenaline that gets you through.”

“Ferrari or Lamborghini. Never fancied one of those - too flash for me. I don't really like seeking too much attention.”

“The truth is I don't feel too bad for my age. I actually have a better shape now than I used to.”

“I've been in the public eye so long, I can't remember how it was when it was different - from my mid-20s onwards, when my career started to blossom and I became an international, world cups and things.”

“It's nice to have the power of Twitter to correct things that were incorrect.”

“I've known Mark Hughes for half a lifetime. We joined Barcelona in the same summer of 1986, played together under Terry Venables and Luis Aragones, and have kept in touch ever since.”

“The Leicester story is great for the game in England. It's great for the appreciation of the Premier League.”

“People make mistakes. They say stupid things.”

“What you learn is that you can't please everyone all the time.”