Lothar Matthaus

“Nolito is not a left winger - he is a central player.”

“Mexico and Italy are countries where you can almost taste the atmosphere from the teeming stands when you're on the field, and that's a real motivation for a player.”

“People talk about Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but you need an Iniesta to win the big titles.”

“Diego Simeone, the coach from Atletico Madrid, was a very strong player as a midfielder.”

“Guardiola won so many trophies at Barcelona that he had a huge impact.”

“When Messi has the ball centrally, with time, he has so many options to hurt you.”

“Nobody needs to talk about the history of Manchester United because everybody knows it.”

“Maradona, yes! Diego was very fast, with good skills and brilliant dribbling. Many players are fast but cannot control the ball, but he was amazing.”

“I like to travel, and I'm always ready for a new experience.”

“I'm always pretty cautious when people say that one player could single-handedly help his side to a trophy.”

“When I'm with friends, when I have time, I like to play soccer, and I think it's still my passion, still my love. I'm not crazy to do it every day, but sometimes when I see the ball, I like to kick the ball.”

“Neymar doesn't need to act - he's an excellent player, and he has everything a high-level player needs. He's one of the top five players in the world; why does he need to act? It doesn't bring him sympathy, and it's not good for him.”

“Guardiola likes footballers who can pass the ball, who have eyes for the best position and the right runs.”

“At Wembley, everything is bigger, wider; the atmosphere is different.”

“If someone plays six World Cups, they deserve to be congratulated.”

“No single player can stop Antoine Griezmann on his own.”

“When I was a player, and since then, we have never been so snobbish as to go into a tournament saying, 'We will win this World Cup.' We aren't like that.”

“My wife is from Russia. I like the country, the mentality of the people.”

“For Guardiola, the system and tactics can change but not the approach, attitude, or philosophy.”

“If there's one thing that fans like to see, it's a player who can run at full speed towards the goal.”