Nwankwo Kanu

“Life is difficult in Africa, even getting three square meals.”

“You have good footballers coming out of Africa, West Africa, but they are not on the level that Eto'o played.”

“My dad was a civil servant before he retired, and my mum worked, too. We could not always get three meals in a day; sometimes we'd struggle.”

“My dad played football - and tennis as well - and so did my brothers. My dad was chairman of our local club, Spartans, for a while. But back when I was a boy, people didn't think of football as a career.”

“When good things are coming, there are always some people who haven't been doing good who will try and stop it. But if you believe in what you are doing and are strong enough, then you achieve it. People know who I am and what I have done.”

“Arsenal is a team that, even if they score two or three, people believe that at the end of the day, they might lose or draw. They have to learn to seal off games so that the opposition can't come back when they're one or two-nil up.”

“We've had people like Marc Vivien-Foe die while playing. There have been too many others, including Cheick Tiote. The clubs and the federations have to be serious about giving checkups to the players.”

“When you're growing up, you have your heroes, and you hear about people going off to other countries to play football, but when you're so young, you're not thinking about that. You just play. No referee, no rules.”

“I've been through a lot and played for a long time, so I can understand what others will go through. That's why I want to help them out. There are a lot of players who go to Belgium, for example, and have had terrible experiences. I know players, and they have come to me.”

“I'm talking to friends so we can do something to create awareness to try to help children in Africa.”

“We have partnered with hospitals. We do check-ups. We talk to the parents - we educate them - and at the same time, we take the kids to other countries for operations. The goal of the foundation is to build our own cardiac hospitals in Africa, starting in Nigeria.”

“We've seen some players dying from playing football, and the questions are why can't the medical team stop it from happening.”

“A talented footballer comes over, his family depends on him, and if his agent or club don't treat him well, he might not succeed, and then he feels he's let everyone down. For years, African players have been exploited.”

“It's good to get proper check-ups of the players, even if it's quarterly, or every three months.”

“I was born in Owerri and grew up in the east of Nigeria, in Imo state. You could say I was a 'street boy': we grew up on the street, played on the street, did everything out on the street. It was a difficult life altogether, but that's how we grew up.”

“I think you need people who can advise you; that is more important that an agent. They are important because they help players move, but I have some experience of agents working with players who have done things not to help the player but to help themselves.”

“You can have an ankle or shoulder injury, and in six or eight months, you're healed. But if the heart stops for a few moments, that's it.”

“Trophies are good, but saving somebody who could die, giving them hope of a life, that means a lot to me.”

“Our dream is to build a hospital in Nigeria and four other countries in Africa.”

“I am called a legend, and people see me as one, but because of that, I don't think I should have to hide at home and only go on holidays, drink champagne, and watch TV. I am somebody that wants to impact onto people's lives.”