Philippe Coutinho

“I was so anxious for it to be my turn, for the manager to read the letter from my mum. I waited and waited for it. The manager had spoken to the mothers of every player in the team; he'd been reading a message before every game for months, and finally my turn had come.”

“It's just such an honour to be spoken about by Steven Gerrard in such a way, that I might also become such a great player for Liverpool. He is an icon, one of my personal football heroes.”

“The FA Cup has been good for me, and I have scored some goals, but I want to get better because I need to get better. Scoring goals is one of the things that I need to do better because a player in my position must do that. I want to achieve many other things, but that is the main one.”

“My confidence has been really building since my time at Espanyol.”

“My confidence has been really building since my time at Espanyol. The two coaches are actually very similar on the pressing side of the game. They spend a lot of time on that side of it, and it's a lot of hard work.”

“Wijnaldum always tries to do some jokes inside the dressing room. He's always winding people up. He always tries to speak in Portuguese or Spanish with us and dancing.”

“Liverpool have always shown a great warmth to me, so when they came to me with a proposal, I did not need to think twice to renew the contract. I have always been looked after very well by this football club, and I am very happy at this football club, so I didn't even have to think about it.”

“Barcelona is one of the best teams in the world.”

“What I need to do is to work hard and to always do my best to help the team.”

“I also had a chance to play in Brazil for Vasco against Flamengo, the local rivals in Rio. So it is the sort of game the players like to play in, and I like the atmosphere, the build-up, and all the preparations throughout the week. You want to be involved in these kind of games.”

“Most of the youngsters I grew up playing with do not have a career in the game now. Sometimes people think it is easy to be a footballer, but it is hard work that never stops.”

“I share everything with my family; all my happiness and success is theirs.”

“My focus in the training sessions is always about movement to create openings and opportunities. When you don't have the ball, you still need the discipline to know where you should be, who you should be marking, but when we have the ball, it is important to be able to move around.”

“First, you have to play good football so that you get to play for a good team. Then, hopefully, you achieve such a level that you are invited to play for your national side, in time for a World Cup if possible. Then, obviously, play a good World Cup. That's my dream.”

“I will go to Rio to support Brazil even if I'm not in the squad.”

“I want to show that I have the same attitude to the game and personality that my hero had. I only ever met Ronaldinho once, at a charity event in Rio.”

“The No 10 shirt? Yes, I understand what it means in Brazil. The icon number. Yes, it's important. It is the number given to a creative player, and I am happy to have that responsibility, but it is not your shirt number that defines you: it is what you do with a football.”

“Aine plays a huge part in everything I do. We didn't study together; we didn't really have mutual friends, except for one, who had a party, and we both went to it. We met there and sat together for a long time just talking. We liked each other, and we were both trying to show that to one another, but nothing was happening.”

“I try to enjoy the moment, I like to play football, and every time I go on the pitch, I try my best.”

“When I was young, I would watch Ronaldinho play; I would watch him give magic.”