Juan Mata

“Sometimes you look at footballers and think they're selfish or they don't bring a good image to society. But sometimes people underestimate footballers and their capacity to have a strong opinion and sympathy for others.”

“Like any footballer, I love to play. I love to feel important. I love to enjoy the game.”

“Football sometimes has a bad reputation. Some of that is deserved... and some of it isn't.”

“Wherever I go, I see kids playing football. Even if there is no grass and it's just sweaters for goals, you see how people love football.”

“If you want to be anonymous, you can go to Soho or Camden, and it's not a problem. There are a lot of Spanish people. If you go to Piccadilly or Oxford Circus, you hear lots of Spanish voices, but I'm not recognised much.”

“We have professional football, but we also have a beautiful game which, wherever you go, can be used as a social tool for change. Football has an unmatchable power.”

“Obviously, replacing Sir Alex Ferguson was never going to be easy - not for him or for anyone. Although I was with him for only a few months, I'll always be grateful, as he played a key role in my move to United. He was the one who called me, who welcomed me, and the one who gave me the confidence to come here.”

“Obviously, when you've made a great assist... is a great feeling, but obviously, the best feeling is to score yourself.”

“I can tell you as a Manchester United player how big this club is and how you feel the repercussions of everything you do. It happens to everyone. It happened to me when I came.”

“The managers I've known all had their own specific way of working.”

“I like creative players and players who do different things.”

“But I just try to do my best. I don't know if my game can influence the game of the team and how we play, but I just try to help with my football, for my team-mates and the club.”

“The only thing I think about is helping the team, respecting all my team-mates, not being selfish.”

“A coach depends on whether I take a corner well or finish a chance in front of goal, and really, what influence does he have over this when it happens?”

“I have always been a very positive person and tried to bring the positives from the hardest moments.”

“If a luxury player is a player who scores and assists and has good stats, then I'm happy to be a luxury player.”

“I will always be grateful to Chelsea, to the players, the directors, the owner, the fans.”

“I would like to win the Premier League.”

“As a child, we would all go to a tiny village near Burgos, and we'd have typical Spanish parties in the summer. There would be a band and grandparents dancing all night dressed up as American Indians and things like that.”

“I'm the way my father taught me to be.”