David de Gea Quotes

I like to be in contact with the ball, have possession, to play.

You pressure, you want possession, you want to attack. Some teams can't or don't pass the ball. What are you playing for? What's the point? That's not football. Combine, pass, play. That's football - for me, at least.

Before I came to Barcelona, I only thought about one facet of the game: destroying. My qualities were completely defensive, and I wouldn't take responsibility for organising my team's game, our attacks.

Anytime you get good service to the box, it's always great as an attacking player because it gives you more opportunities to score.

The game in Spain is more about technique and about getting more touches on the ball. That's why I like it so much.

For me, possession is to keep the ball while you are waiting for the possibility to penetrate. Every pass is for a reason.

If I don't get the service or if I don't the ball in the box, where I want it, I start drifting into midfield. I go and look for the ball. I try to be important for the team in other areas.

If you play every time, long balls, you lose possession and you lose momentum. I don't want to be like that.

It is impossible to do it for the whole game, but when you have the ball for most of the game and have players like Samir Nasri, David Silva, Yaya Toure, and Raheem Sterling, they keep the ball so well.

I have to open the game from my position. It's really important to play with the ball.

In Spain, you get seven clear chances a game to receive the ball and shoot. In Italy, you get very few clear balls, and you have to fight everyone to score; that makes you improve and develop.

If the spaces open up in the attack, then of course I'm willing to take it because I love to get involved; I love to get crosses in. I love to do combinations and just bring a different aspect to our game.

Circulation of the ball is important, but it's only useful if you can give it to someone who can make the difference.

My teams have always been dominant about having the ball but having the ball to create opportunities. That's always been the clear way of my work.

Jorginho is really suitable to the way I like to play. He is a player that has many good sides to him. He wants to work hard, and he's very fast in moving the ball, which is important for us, although there is also Cesc Fabregas, who has the same potential as Jorginho.

People always see the goals, and for me, strikers are not only about scoring goals.

Football is not about suffering. It's about enjoyment. Control the ball, be friendly with it, try to attack, try to score goals. Of course defending is part of it, but you can defend in a lot of ways.

If you've got someone like Thierry Henry in your team, you get him on the ball.

Watch me, and I only really like the ball into feet. I don't like running in behind so much.

I don't want Kylian to play like Neymar and keep the ball. Kylian is incredibly dangerous in the final move, and I want him to stay that way.

Spalletti made a difference for me. He gives great importance to the details and, at minimum, wants the goalkeeper to know how to play with the ball at his feet.

Sometimes in midfield, it's nice because you do get a little bit more of the ball, and maybe out wide you rely on people to get you the ball.

Usually, the most intelligent player is a midfielder.

The truth is I like the style of playing the ball out and hitting long passes.

Maybe modern tactics mean that making the switch from defence to midfield is easier. Many years ago, full backs were more limited - you were just supposed to defend, and it didn't matter if you could get forward too.