They told me I wouldn’t make 25. Then it was 35, then 45. These were my doctors speaking – they’re all dead now.
The best thing about being a dad? Well, I think it’s just the thing that every man wants – to have a son and heir.
Don’t die like I did.
Everyone went crazy over Wayne Rooney, but I get more excited by Cristiano Ronaldo.
I was born with a great gift, and sometimes with that comes a destructive streak.
I must be the only person in the world who’s looking forward to going into hospital. I can’t wait to get it over and done with.
Even at the height of my fame, 50 per cent of the people who saw me wanted a fight; it’s the downside of being a star player.
I want to be remembered for my football and the pleasure I gave people.
People say I slept with seven miss worlds, I didn’t. It was only four, I didn’t turn up for the other three.
Football is a sad game.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s was the most exciting debut I’ve ever seen. There have been a few players described as ‘The New George Best’ over the years, but this is the first time it’s been a compliment to me.
I’m OK. Much better than on other occasions. It’s true that I’ve made lots of mistakes but I’ve never tried to bother anyone. I want to stay alive, preferably in peace, without seeing every one of my mistakes in the papers, and on many occasions, even stories that are lies.
That’s what children do – throw food. That’s not fighting. We were real men. We’d have chinned them.
When they first installed all-seater stadiums everyone predicted that the fans wouldn’t stand for it.
I even found it difficult to watch myself playing on TV because I couldn’t identify with the person on the screen. I couldn’t get to grips with it. It was as if it was all happening to someone else.
If you make up your own mind, you can only blame yourself.
That thing about being an icon, the fifth Beatle, I just found it so freaky.
Robert Redford used to be such a handsome man and now look at him: everything has dropped, expanded and turned a funny color.
I definitely don’t think that money can buy you love. It can buy you affection but certainly not love.
I will respect this liver. After all, it’s not mine.
I don’t recognize myself in the players I see today. There’s only one who excites me, and that is Thierry Henry. He’s not just a great footballer, he’s a showman, an entertainer.