Football Legacy Quotes

There won't be more Messis, and we don't expect there to be more, as there won't be another generation in La Masia like the one with Xavi, Busi, Puyol, Iniesta and me.

After my time with a certain NFL team, I wanted to retire.

I wouldn't say Pulisic is there to fill Hazard's boots. It's not fair to put that load on him. He's there to bring another way of playing for Chelsea and he will create his own footprints basically and build his own legacy there at the Bridge. He is definitely a player the fans will like. In America he is rated very, very highly.

It's sad that Walter Payton was not known as the greatest running back to play the game until they won the Super Bowl.

My goal had been to win a championship, work toward the Hall of Fame, have my jersey retired by the team and I'd go in as a lifelong New York Giant, but I'm now resigned to the fact that this won't happen.

The first time I retired, only Sir Alex Ferguson and I knew that the last league game of the 2010-11 season against Blackpool was to be my final game at Old Trafford. I was a little bit sad, but I am not one for tears. The end of a career comes to us all, and there is not a lot you can do about that.

I was the center on our fraternity team, but I was a center-eligible, so I was known for my ability to go out, and I was pretty sure-handed catching a pass in the flat about ten yards down the field. My father played high school football and was pretty good. He also played center, so I always relished the idea that we both ended up playing center.

It was lucky I came from City; I'd say their philosophy is quite similar. Barcelona are a lot more advanced because they are the ones who created it, but they have a history of members of staff at Manchester City who worked here.

The worst thing Spurs ever did was get rid of Keith Burkinshaw. They have never replaced him.

I've always believed that when you play for Juve, the goal at the start of the year is to win the title and a lot of trophies.

You can never know if there will be a second Cruyff, someone with a great personality who can grow up and make it into the squad of the club they love. But what is certain is that, in the Champions League, there will be big clubs producing these players forever.

I worked in a gym. I was a trainer. I did all the crappy ex-football-player jobs.

I have tremendous respect for both John Elway and Peyton Manning as people and as quarterbacks in the NFL, but I was not concerned one bit with playing in their shadow.

I wish to play again for West Ham before I finish my career.

Why is Barry Switzer not in the Hall of Fame? I have no idea. He's done everything humanly possible to be in.

My time at Real Madrid wasn't a failure. I played 120 matches, I scored 28 goals, and I played an average of 30 games a season. What's more, I won three trophies: La Liga, a Copa del Rey, and a Supercopa de Espana.

When I was younger, let's face it, Latinos in the league were almost always kickers. But Anthony Munoz was definitely a guy I looked up to.

Truth to be told, yes, it does feel very strange to be in the Spain setup without Xavi. Ever since I broke through for Barca and Spain he's always been around. We've always had a great relationship and he's always set an example in every way, when it comes to camaraderie, how much help he's given me and, above all, in footballing terms.

I think that everyone expects Xavi to be a coach, and he has the profile to be at Barcelona or wherever he is.

I have no desire at all to become the winningest coach at Notre Dame. The record belongs to Knute Rockne or some other coach in the future.

It's very sad that Tanzania is a poor football country. If elected, I promise to put this country on the world football map. I will make sure we produce our own Okochas, El Hadji Dioufs and Zinedine Zidanes here.

I think it was fantastic being in the 49ers Hall of Fame.

My numbers are better than Troy Aikman, but he has Super Bowl rings and he's played with Hall of Famers as well.

Everyone's got unfinished business with Barcelona. They're the greatest team in the world.

People talk about the history of Manchester United or Liverpool, but look what Arsenal achieved with the team of Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira.