Michael Owen

“I find it hard to say no to people.”

“An emotion that lives with me is a sense of 'what might have been' had injuries not robbed me of my most lethal weapon - speed.”

“If I'd still been in one piece from the World Cup and gone through my career, what type of player would I have been? No doubt about it, if I hadn't had as many injuries I would have been the all-time leading scorer for England.”

“I have been very fortunate in that my career has taken me on a journey I could only have dreamed of.”

“You are affected by the surroundings, the mood of people, by confidence. I am no different.”

“I'm confident in my own ability. If that wasn't the case you might as well pack it in now. If you think too much, you start doubting yourself, doubting your quality, so you have to train yourself in a certain way.”

“There are pitfalls in World Cups, there are players who can win penalties and players who get the slightest touch and go down holding their face or whatever and get someone sent off. There are all these little things and you're hoping that you're not on the wrong end of it.”

“There's nothing quite like a World Cup.”

“I'd love to go and I'd love to play for my country and go to a World Cup again. I've got to accept I'm not in the current squad and just think, 'If I get it, it's a bonus and I'll give it everything.' But it's hard to do when you've been thinking a different way all your life.”

“The way I look at myself, the biggest achievement in my eyes - forget winning trophies or scoring in World Cups - is that I'm still at a top club playing at a really high standard having been almost two different players.”

“I don't want to pack everything into one year and then do nothing the rest of my life. I think it's important to do things bit by bit.”

“If you're a goal scorer, you have to have a certain attitude. I'm very serious. My missus thinks I'm a bit weird. I'm cold, I don't have many emotions. It's very rare I cry.”

“I want to have as normal a life as possible.”

“If you have any setback in your life, like not being in the England squad was for me - any setback, like losing a family member - everyone handles it in different ways. When I first wasn't included I was numb. I'd been the main England striker for years and years. It was really disappointing.”

“I've got no hamstring in the middle. I'm basically running on two hamstrings on my right leg and three on the other. That injury has probably changed my whole career. I've been compromised from the age of 19.”

“I basically run on two hamstrings on my right leg and three on the other. I'm losing a third of the power.”

“If you look at anyone at the top of their profession, there has to be something a little bit different. Some of the top musicians are quirky aren't they, to say the least. You have to be driven, cold, hard and mentally tough as iron. My missus thinks I'm a bit weird.”

“I was born to score goals, I feel.”

“If you look at anyone at the top of their profession, there has to be something a little bit different. You have to be driven, cold, hard and mentally tough as iron.”

“There is no doubt that I would have won more honours had I signed for Manchester United as a youngster.”