Saturday 18 April 2020, 11:55

The Week in Quotes

"Peoples' lives come before football. We see everyone is the same in the face of this virus, footballer or not, rich or poor. Everyone has to be united more than ever." Bayern Munich and France defender Lucas Hernandez speaks with L'Equipe about the COVID-19 crisis

"My wife is a great cook and I like to eat well, so it's a problem because there are too many cookies. I like to drink tea and now every time I make a cup of tea, I also eat a cookie. I can't resist it." Aaron Ramsey talks about his struggle to resist the temptation of sweets while in isolation at home, speaking on Instagram Live

"It's complicated for me. I'm trying not to eat a lot. I'm trying not to go into the pantry to eat a lot of buns, but it's not easy." Eden Hazard reveals to RTBF, as quoted by Marca, that he struggles with the same thing as Ramsey

"I did not want to accept his apologies, or talk to him. Now was not the moment. I had to go to the bathroom, smoke 250 cigarettes in ten minutes. This is how I escaped. We did not speak for almost two years. In 2008, after the European Championship, I had to get married. My wife told me to invite him. I called him but he couldn't come to the party at night, but it made me happy to see him arrive for the morning. We had an aperitif together." Willy Sagnol reveals to AS of his hurt after losing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ and specifically his relationship with Zinedine Zidane

"I liked him, his style and how he was playing was so amazing. He was my big, big idol. I did his haircut too – in 2002, the triangle – I did it, too. Everybody was shocked in school when I went to school with this haircut. But I loved him and I still love him. He is my big idol. I wish I could meet him. I was not really copying him, because every player is so different and has different specialities and different talents. But he was my big hero back in the day. When he lost against France in the [1998 World Cup] final, I was crying at home. He was my big idol." Xherdan Shaqiri speaks with Liverpool's official club website about his footballing idol, Ronaldo

"I'm focusing on soccer at the moment, but I've always been a kid who loves a challenge and I've never backed down from any challenge. I know with proper training and the right technique and someone showing me how to properly kick, I know that I can do it. It may have to get pushed a year or so. I know the times right now are a little up in the air, so we'll see. I'm not ruling it out." Speaking in a streamed Yahoo and Women's Sports Foundation event, Carli Lloyd confirms her interest in being a kicker for NFL side Philadelphia Eagles

Gareth Bale remembers his wonder goal against Barcelona

"Obviously when I came into the dressing room the first time I was a little bit like a child in a candy shop, like, 'There's Buffon, there's Ronaldo'. In the beginning you're just a little bit looking like who's that, who's that and stuff like how is he? After really two months I felt really like I could be more myself." Matthijs de Ligt tells Foot Truck what it was like walking into the Juventus dressing room for the first time

"Whenever I refer to Leo I say the same thing. In football there is decision making and execution. Most players make good decisions, but they don't execute them in the best way or the other way around. And he normally does both. And at the speed with which he plays, it’s different. In addition, Leo knows how to control and that allows him, within a game, to have seven, eight or ten important chances, at 100 per cent. That is his ability to dominate the game. Normally, the game dominates us all. It takes you, you carry out different actions, because the rival or the game invites you to that. In the case of Leo, it is the other way around: he decides what to do or not to do with the game. So he’s from another planet." Javier Mascherano discusses Lionel Messi's qualities with Cielosports

"He was the one, two or three days ago, that gave us the idea to donate our bonus. So we qualified to the 2020 Euros, which now is in 2021. And he gave us the idea to donate part of our bonus, so I think our national team, our players will donate 50 percent of our qualifying bonus." Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva speaks with Bleacher Report about an initiative Cristiano Ronaldo started with the Portugal national team to donate their UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying bonus to support struggling clubs during the COVID-19 crisis

"I have probably watched every [Marco] Verratti video on YouTube. I will watch PSG just to watch him; he is one of the best three midfielders in the world." Wales midfielder Joe Morrell talks about his footballing idol with The Guardian

"I have told the players many times that I don't have time to lose, and I'd like to win both the Champions League and La Liga. Of course I've dreamed of winning these titles, and having a walk in Liencres [his hometown] among the cows with the Champions League and La Liga trophies in my hands." Barcelona manager Quique Setien tells TV3 about his career dreams and goals

"I scored our first goal and I’ve never experienced such a celebration of fans in my life. I felt they were all rushing towards me and ready to fall on me. The support was so strong that I felt I had the strength and power of three players. Really. The singer Rod Stewart came in the dressing room afterwards. He had been crying with emotion." Victor Wanyama recalls scoring against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League during his days at Celtic in an exclusive interview with The Athletic

"He's got the potential to be one of the best players in the world. What makes Erling so special is his mentality. To start with, he was in the youth World Cup, he scored nine goals in one game. He's fearless, he's competitive, he's got a drive to get better, he's equipped with so many qualities that make him very different and special, along with the ability and pure talent, he'll be fun to watch in the coming years, that's for sure." RB Salzburg coach Jesse Marsch on Erling Haaland, speaking with ESPN

"I'll tell you; Gigi wants to play until he's 50. But he can play for two or three more seasons. Besides, he's in goal and is a back-up." Francesco Totti on Gianluigi Buffon, speaking with former defender Fabio Cannavaro on Instagram

"It was many years living this club, growing up here since we were very young, getting into the first team and staying there for 10, 12, 15 years, becoming captains. We were all formed here as people. It’s difficult for something like that to happen. It’s very difficult. We’re talking about Barcelona, a club with the best players. Víctor, Puyol, Xavi, me: we came up in a scenario to Busi [Sergio Busquets], Piqué, and Leo [Messi]. We’re people who have been at the club our whole lives and we have that ‘plus’ that others don’t have. The moment could come when all of those players coincide at the club [again]. Without doubt, the likes of Víctor, Xavi, Puyol, have to go back because it wouldn’t make sense for them not to." Andres Iniesta speaks about his time at Barcelona, with The Guardian