The Week in Quotes - WORLD FOOTBALL

The Week in Quotes - WORLD FOOTBALL

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"It brings me great happiness to be where I want to be. That the club has given me a renewal means that they are happy with my performance and it is a sign of what is still to come. My renewal isn't a message to Lionel Messi - he's old enough to know what is good for him. My happiness will be complete only if Messi renews his contract as well."
Barcelona forward Luis Suarez talks about his new contract with the club at an adidas event

"It would be interesting to see both of us in the same team. I think great players should play together. So if we were in the same team, I think I would have more than him, but he wouldn't be far off. Everyone knows Messi is a great player."
Real Madrid star and The Best FIFA Men's Player 2016 nominee Cristiano Ronaldo on fellow The Best candidate Lionel Messi, speaking with France Football

"I had [Hamm's] jersey growing up and I remember thinking on my first year or two on the national team 'Oh my God she has so many goals, how is anyone ever going to reach that level?' To pass her this year … that was pretty cool. That was something I'll never forget."
Canada forward Christine Sinclair speaks on a conference call after being named the country's best women's footballer for the 13th time

“Tite has completely changed the atmosphere, he is a great manager of people, of human beings. He's a guy who transmits a certain sympathy to the players, and is very knowledgeable about all aspects of the game, about football. His greatest achievement so far is returning the joy and confidence of Brazilian football as a whole. I am so happy to see that his players are interested in improving their knowledge, improving themselves as players, desperate every day to add something to their game.”
Former FIFA World Cup™-winning Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira on current coach Tite, speaking from a CBF coaching course in Teresopolis

"Back then I could already see that he had the makings of a fine coach. All that he was lacking was experience, but that's something you get by coaching day in, day out, working and talking with the players. Zidane has knowledge, charisma, personality...He has it all. Experience isn't the most important thing."
Bayern Munich head coach and former Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti discusses Real Madrid coach and The Best FIFA Men's Coach 2016 nominee Zinedine Zidane, in an interview with Diario AS

"Messi and Ronaldo are two monsters, two legends. It will be hard to get past [Lionel] Messi or [Cristiano] Ronaldo in the future. We will try to go higher. I hope it continues like this and that the year 2017 will be as good as this one."
The Best FIFA Men's Player 2016 candidate Antoine Griezmann tells L'Equipe TV of his pride of being nominated alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

"Zlatan will score more goals in one season than Michael Owen in three seasons at Man United. He [Owen] scored 17 goals in three seasons, Zlatan is almost there in six months, so he's not a bad choice for us."
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho takes a light-hearted dig at Michael Owen on BT Sport after the former United forward claimed Zlatan Ibrahimovic was a short-term solution

“[It is good] for rehydration, you can drink Coca-Cola or one beer. It’s good for recovery. But one. Not a lot. It’s good. After you finish the game, quickly, not an hour after the end. I have great professionals in my players. In this case, I don’t think a coach or a manager can say: ‘Do this’ or ‘Don’t do this’. I have great professionals and I know they will have the better attitude and behaviours in this situation.”
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte on why his forward Diego Costa enjoys a beer after a match

"You saw from the beginning that he had so much talent. I guess he doesn't have the same talent as Messi on one level, but he works harder than everybody else. This is why he is the world-class player he is. When I met him for the first time at United he had a completely different body. He started to work on it every day. Another example is his heading ability. Through hard work he developed into a player who is one of the best headers of a ball in the world. Every single ability was increased permanently because he did everything for it."
Former team-mate of Cristiano Ronaldo Markus Neumayr believes the intense work Ronaldo has put in has set him apart from his rivals for The Best FIFA Men's Player 2016

"We have to continue believing in the Barcelona philosophy. It is not enough to just win but how you do it, and how often you do it. It is not winning in any way possible. The Barcelona philosophy has to be there and survive."
Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta talks about the club's philosophy with Esport 3

"Messi, he's the best. The reason is simple. Because he is the best."
New York City FC forward and 2016 MLS MVP David Villa gives a straightforward view on who he thinks should win The Best FIFA Men's Player 2016 award to fans in Korea Republic on Naver

"[Zidane] is like a brother to me. He is an example for me and I am very happy to be able to work with him.”
Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema on head coach Zinedine Zidane, speaking with Teledeporte

"That's hard to say. Us in Germany, and the whole world knows we have a good squad and not just one good player. I'd say our best player is the team."
Germany and Real Madrid forward Toni Kroos tells Goal his national team has no stars but thrive on team play

“I watched the film Creed to experience Goodison! I was with the staff at the Christmas party, when I came home there was nothing to do, and I decided to watch a film, and it was Creed, but I didn't know it was filmed at Goodison Park – a complete coincidence. Rocky is a wonderful story though. When I was much younger I tried to use the story of Rocky IV - Ivan Drago and Rocky and that stuff - in a team meeting. And after five minutes I realised nobody knew what I was talking about.”
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp speaks in a pre-match news conference ahead of the Merseyside Derby on Monday

"Me, I want two draws between my children. I do not want either to lose. But I know that unfortunately one of them will be eliminated. I will see both matches on 16 February in Manchester and 22 February in Saint-Etienne. My sons are very happy to meet on the field, they promised to exchange their jerseys ."
Paul and Florentin Pogba's mother, Yeo Moriba, speaks with AFP after her her sons' teams, Manchester United and Saint-Etienne, drew each other in the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League