Saturday 15 February 2020, 09:08

The Week in Quotes

"If someone asks you, and you are struggling, you don’t have to hold it in and try and be a brave or macho person. It is okay to talk. It is okay to be down, and it is okay to say that. There are times now when I feel down, and I’m not afraid to admit that. I fix it with a cup of tea, talking to family or friends. Sometimes I just need to have a cry. All I can hope for is that, by telling my story, it can have a positive impact. If I can save one person from doing something drastic, then I’ve made a difference. That’s all I’m hoping for." West Ham United's Gilly Flaherty shares her story of her battle with mental health, in support of the Heads Up campaign, with the club's official website

"There was a lot in it but at the same time, there was nothing in it." Bayern Munich's Thomas Muller on his side's goalless draw with RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga

"I still remember there was a girl in the crowd that day saying, ‘I want to be there in 2023’. I think it got a few girls dreaming like that." South Africa coach Desiree Ellis tells FIFA.com in an exclusive interview what it was like to help South Africa qualify for their first ever FIFA Women's World Cup™

“I copied quite a few of his haircuts. Many, we model ourselves after him. I think he is one of the most stylish people in the world, so we need to copy him." Neymar on being inspired by David Beckham, speaking with Otro

"Do you remember Gazza at Italia 90 when they were saying he was playing tennis the day before a game, sweating, playing five sets? Rooney in a way was a bit like that. It's hard to keep him off the training pitch, he just wants to play. He just enjoys it, he loves it, he's like a kid, but in a man's body, with a world class talent, playing at a World Cup. He was always sort of jovial. He was great around the place, Rooney. I suppose there's a perception of him, but he was the life and soul of our dressing room." Peter Crouch gives insight into what Wayne Rooney would do during downtime at the World Cup, speaking on The Peter Crouch Podcast on the BBC

"I fell asleep [in the barber's chair] and when I woke up it was so bad that I said to him 'bring the one'. Hopefully, it will grow back again." Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho on his new shaved haircut, speaking with Sky Sports

"There is only one Messi. It's hard to know what will come after him. Taking into consideration that a genius is born every 15 or 20 years, the next one will have a more academic background. Messi is a formative miracle: he owes his gifts to both the streets and the academy. The next Messi will be more similar to Cristiano Ronaldo than Messi, more physically superhuman, more competitive, just as heroic, but cut from a different cloth." Jorge Valdano on Lionel Messi in an interview with Tiempo

"It's an amazing journey you're about to embark on. It won't be an easy road. The ones worth travelling usually aren't." USA defender Kelley O'Hara writes a letter to her younger self in The Players' Tribune

"I can't describe how they are and how motivated they are especially. They always push me. If you see those people, you push hard and harder to make them proud because it's the only satisfaction they have on it. I have to give back what they have done for me." Sadio Mane on the support he's had from his friends and family back home in Senegal, in an interview with Liverpool's official club website

"What is the best coach in the world? I never felt I am the best, never in my life. When I won six titles in a row in Barcelona and won trebles, I never felt that. I won because I had extraordinary players at big clubs. There are incredible managers, they don't have these players, they don't have these big clubs. I'm a good manager but not the best. Give me a team that is not like Manchester City, I am not going to win." Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola with a humble response to Sky Sports when it was put to him that he was the best coach in the world

Oscar award-winning director for Parasite Bong Joonho reveals his love of football and Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne