Jay-Jay Okocha

“It's a team sport but every player's ego will kick in at a certain point.”

“I used to say that I got to Germany as a boy but I left as a man.”

“The way I learnt to play was to go out there and enjoy myself. I never thought I'd play professionally.”

“In football, everything can change.”

“To be honest, I can live anywhere.”

“I don't walk around with a bible or preach to people and I don't want to disturb my team-mates on match days by praying in the dressing room, so I do that at the hotel before I leave. I respect their way of life and do not insist that my way is best. I have not tried to convert anybody.”

“It is always nice to play for the bigger teams, contesting titles and Champions League rather than relegation.”

“You can't play football without having a good training pitch.”

“Preparing well for a tournament sometimes is not enough to win it as you also need a lot of luck in order to win.”

“Ronaldo is a fantastic player, one of the best I've ever seen, but he's been a bit unfortunate to be of the same generation as Messi. Consequently, they have to share the limelight.”

“I'm friends with Igor Yanovsky from when we played together at PSG and he suggested a few Russian dishes to me. I really love borsch!”

“Nobody likes it when people dribble past them, me included, but I can't tackle.”

“I don't want to stay on the bench all the time.”

“I can't play football forever, I am not a greedy person.”

“As kids, we were used to playing football with anything that we managed to kick and whenever we got a ball, it was a bonus.”

“I played in Qatar only because I had a great offer and I am not ashamed to accept. We played in empty stadiums! I realised what a mistake I made and decided to leave the club immediately.”

“I'd be lying if I said I never had any issues with players but at some point you have to stamp your authority because if you're good at taking free-kicks, for example, they should let you take them.”

“I think the way I played, I would have suited Sundowns.”

“Everybody wants to play in the Premiership and I like a big challenge.”

“For me, there is no limit to success.”