"I used to tease the other kids because I played better than them. Then my father said, 'Come here. Don't do this with the kids, because God gave you the gift to play football. You didn't do anything. …"

"Everything is practice."

"I don't like to talk about myself. I like to talk about football."

"I think I am a very lucky man."

"I've come to accept that the life of a frontrunner is a hard one, that he will suffer more injuries than most men and that many of these injuries will not be accidental."