Ryan Giggs

“Football is easy when things are going well, but when its not, it becomes the biggest test.”

“Too much money at a young age, it just takes your eye off the ball. And you're not as hungry as players used to be. You think you've made it before you've done anything.”

“I've put myself forward to be involved. Whether I get picked, we'll have to wait and see. Obviously everybody is excited about it, about the Olympics coming to London and the football being played in different parts of Britain.”

“I didn't become a footballer to be famous, I became a footballer to be successful. I didn't want to be famous. Now people want to be famous. Why? Why would you want people following you about all day? I couldn't think of anything worse.”

“When you lose a game or don't play well you can't wait for the next one, because it soon disappears, the disappointment.”

“I'm not comfortable being photographed, though I accept it is part of the job.”

“As a footballer I can't imagine life without the use of one of my legs... Sadly this is exactly what happens to thousands of children every year when they accidentally step on a landmine.”

“I just want to be as successful as I can in football.”

“He was a professional rugby player in the area that I played as a youngster. So a lot of people who I went to school with knew who he was and knew that he was black. So I would get racist taunts in school.”

“All players have 'ordinary' periods in their career and it's hard to explain why. So at these times, its all about self belief, hard work and hopefully you get the break and your form returns.”

“I had an early taste of fame. I was 20, going out with TV presenter Dani Behr and we'd have paparazzi chasing us. I'm not comfortable being photographed, though I accept it is part of the job. I had to ask myself, 'What comes first, being a celebrity or footballer?'”