A biography for Nicolas Anelkahasn’t been written yet.
“It doesn't matter I have not always been at the biggest clubs.”
“For me the French team belongs to the past.”
“When you have been coached by Ancelotti and other greats, it's hard to be coached by Domenech!”
“It seems that Gerard Houllier did not appreciate my personality. It bothers him to have someone around who could stand up to him.”
“As a player you just concentrate on your game.”
“I think Martin Keown was the toughest. I liked playing against him in training because I knew it was just like a game situation.”
“When I was playing for Chelsea and Arsenal, we had a young team but also experienced players. You still have space for the youngsters to play, they just have to be strong mentally to compete every week.”
“In football you need to be versatile sometimes, because the most important thing is to win games and enjoy your football.”
“All I've ever wanted is to improve myself and become the best, which is the reason I joined Real in the first place.”
“I know I won't be a manager, I don't want to do it, never.”
“It's always good for a player to be on the pitch.”
“I used to fast during Ramadan because I admired the people fasting around me. What made me convert was that I had that certainty that Islam was for me. I felt this relationship with God, and that enlightened my life. I had that conviction in my heart that that was my religion.”
“When the chance came to join a great club like Liverpool, I weighed up my options and it was obviously the best move for me.”
“No player can win matches on his own.”
“I left for Madrid at 20 years old and I didn't really know how it would go.”
“If one day I have to go to war, straight away right next to me, on the front line, I would put Patrice Evra. And there aren't many that I would put there.”
“The jobs of manager and director of football are too big for one individual - this I realised very quickly.”
“For me the most important is on the pitch, I don't like too much speaking in the press. I will do the minimum. I will do it because I have to do it.”
“A lot of youngsters want to be footballers and a lot dont make it. It is very difficult but if your education is good and you work hard and do everything the best way, then why not?”
“Sometimes to rest, even to watch your team-mates from the bench, is not too bad. It is part of the game and you try to be fresh when you come on the pitch.”