Jermaine Jenas

“I wasn't the kind of player to make a fuss.”

“When you're out there together on the pitch, you're fighting for each other. It's amazing, overwhelming and you either sink or swim in that atmosphere. It's what makes professional footballers what they are. You can't replicate that in any other job.”

“My career has been like that - when I went to Newcastle, Kieron Dyer and Gary Speed were ahead of me and I got into that team. Then they bought Hugo Viana, who had just been crowned Young European Player of the Year, and I still got into the side.”

“We were from a predominantly white area, my dad was black and my mum was white, so that had its complications.”

“My dad's a football coach, that's what he does.”

“A lot of the best managers in the game were forced into it by financial necessity. From Sir Alex Ferguson to Jurgen Klopp, their main incentive to move into coaching after their playing careers was to make a living.”

“I've never been a selfish player. I've never been able to just say I am going as well. I've always thought about the team first.”

“During my time playing for England we had Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes. They were world-class players playing for Chelsea, Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal, all legends of the game.”

“As a young player all you want to do is develop.”

“I miss the build-up to the games, the jolt of nervous energy that goes through your body before a match, walking out on to a pitch and the knowledge that a whole city can be caught up in supporting a club you play for.”

“People sometimes ask me what my biggest regret is in football and it's not being able to have that 'Steven Gerrard' moment where he's playing for the team that he loves in terms of where he's from.”

“I'm not a robot: sometimes I wake up and I want to train, but I don't manage it.”

“I used to find most joy with those long, bursting runs from your own box where the opposition's central midfield player has to track you. It gives them a decision to make: do they pass you on to a defender, or do they go all the way with you.”

“With Tottenham's Mousa Dembele, there is a long list of reasons why he is an opponent I would hate to face.”

“We are obsessed in England with the idea that we're not good enough at retaining the ball, and that our players treat it like a hot potato.”

“It's not that players feel no emotional bond to a team. When you've given so much of your career to a club, you can't help but feel affection towards them.”

“I wanted to play for England at a World Cup and to grace the pitch for even two minutes at such a big tournament would have been huge.”

“I think 90 per cent of players are still pursuing dreams of league titles and cups, but there is also a huge percentage of very good players who are strictly money motivated.”

“I've always had an appreciation of my life and the lifestyle me and my family have become accustomed to. It's more to do with the little things.”

“Professional footballers get up, train, play games, and that's it. They don't worry if the club gets fined. They don't investigate the intricacies of the business.”