"Truthfully, I don’t have many close friends — inside or outside of football. It takes me a really long time to open up to people. But over time, I got closer to Raheem, because our sons were born around the same time, so they would always play together. I really got to know Raheem, and I recognized what a smart and genuine person he is. He couldn’t be more different from what the tabloids were saying. This is the real truth: Raheem is one of the nicest, most humble guys I’ve met in football." Kevin De Bruyne writes about his relationship with Manchester City team-mate Raheem Sterling and much more in The Players' Tribune

"I think we need to change the way we treat women in our culture. It’s not optional. I support the woman more than I did before, because I feel like she deserves more than what they give her now, at the moment." Egypt and Liverpool star Mohamed Salah speaks in an interview with TIME, after being named by the magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world this year

"She’s fast, strong and fearless. Alex continues to add so much confidence and variety to her game. It should also excite us to know that she’s playing the best soccer of her career, and that this summer she’ll do whatever it takes to help her team defend the World Cup they reclaimed four years ago." From one USA great to another, Mia Hamm describes what makes Alex Morgan one of TIME's 100 most influential people in the world for 2019

"We are hungry, we want to win the championship. It is necessary to score goals to win the games. We are confident in this moment right now. We need the points. Dortmund is a tough competitor. We know what to do but we are hungry. [Growls]" Bayern Munich forward Thomas Muller talks about the Bundesliga title race

“It's impossible to describe Messi. I like him so much and I always say I feel so sad because he never won the World Cup with Argentina. It is an award he deserves because a world-class player like him must be a world champion." 1999 FIFA World Player of the Year and 2002 World Cup winner Rivaldo tells Goal that he believes Lionel Messi is worthy of the ultimate triumph on the world stage

"We've got the end in sight. We're just outside of Burnley now, and then we're going to do 22 miles again tomorrow to Halifax. Then we'll be left with 14 miles, then the trek into Leeds." Wigan fan Keiran Crompton is making good on his vow to walk 58 miles backwards to Leeds if his Latics beat Aston Villa and scored three goals (they won 3-0)

"What impresses me most isn’t the work rate or technical ability, both of which are exceptional. It’s the way they fill the pitch, their understanding of space and time, their tactical nous... all at such a young age." Juventus legend Alessandro Del Piero on Ajax after the Dutch side knocked his former club out of the UEFA Champions League

"Creative football with a good balance between attack and defence – this is the trick. Ajax have such a lot of creative players. I said it after seeing the matches against Bayern Munich in the group stage: Ajax can go all the way, although the best teams are still in the race." Louis Van Gaal – the last man to lead Ajax to UEFA Champions League glory – tells FIFA.com that this year's side have the quality to win the tournament

"Sometimes in training he complains, he gets angry. But we know him. He’s very competitive, very demanding. I think he’s helping the players in training to grow and to be more competitive. I’m surprised the level he has. It’s wonderful. It’s the same level as Messi, Ronaldo. He’s 37, he’s older. But I think his level is very high.” First-year LA Galaxy head coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto tells Yahoo Sports that he believes Zlatan Ibrahimovic's level of play remains at the peak of world football

“I looked down and I thought, ‘I probably need to go hospital,’ but my main priority was to carry on watching the game. I called the paramedics over but I made it clear that I was staying to watch the full 90 minutes. I was more interested in the fact Leeds are going to the Premier League!” When Leeds United netted a winner against Sheffield Wednesday, supporter Matt Richardson suffered a broken ankle celebrating but refused to leave the match until the end