Javier Zanetti Quotes

I will not end my career with Banfield. I will stay at Inter until the end, the Nerazzurri fans should remain tranquil.

Balotelli I have known since I gave him his debut at 17.

I moved to Manchester United when I was a 17-year-old kid. Nemanja Vidic was five years older than me and Rio Ferdinand nearly nine years, and at the time, they were the best central defenders in the world. They never had a bad game.

I had the chance to play with Alan Shearer to join the list of class players I'd played with at a young age at Leeds - the Vidukas, Smiths, Kewells, and Woodgates.

I would advise that if you can get out on loan and play football, it is the best path to go down.

My two years at Juve were fantastic. I was just a lad when I arrived, and I was a real footballer when I left.

When I first arrived at Napoli, I was the ball boy, which meant that I got to watch as the legends trained. Then, once I joined the youth team as a young teenager, I was a midfielder just like Tardelli.

The Champions League is massive. I've had so much experience. I'm only 23, and yet I've played so much in the Champions League, and not many players my age would have had that experience.

Me being at Coventry, instead of a big Premier League club, probably helped me develop. You don't get put in the academy system, playing Under-18s and Under-23s.

I was playing first-team football at Cardiff at 16.

I got my first taste of real professional football on loan at Northampton. I was 18 at the time, and I played only nine games, but it was a massive opportunity for me.

I've been fortunate enough to play for Leeds and Anderlecht, who are massive in Belgium.

When I went to Real Madrid, I was only 18 or 19 years old. It was my first year as a professional footballer. I was very young.

I started lower down the leagues with Coventry, so I'd had that taste of first-team action at a young age. I'd already played 40 or 50 games before moving on, and when I got to Norwich, I had to bide my time at the start.

Buffon has been a star from the moment he began his senior career with Parma.

I started in League One and went up into the Championship and then into the Premier League, so I've played a lot of games from quite a young age.

They're great memories, not just as a footballer but as a person growing up - it sounds daft, but to come away from Liverpool to play the first-team football I needed. It's a fantastic place, a huge football club and they helped me a lot. I'm grateful for coming through there.

I was trained under very famous coaches in the Italian national team, Read Madrid, Juventus, Internazionale and Parma.

Dele Alli is probably the perfect example. He played loads of games for MK Dons at a young age. He got a move and kicked on from there because he had that experience behind him.

I wish Kylian to have the same career as Thierry Henry.

I enjoyed my time in the Premier League and in Qatar.

I've had a lot of success in England, and I've really enjoyed my time with Manchester City, but I wanted to challenge myself even further by playing abroad.

I first realised I was good at football when I started getting scouted by United, Liverpool, Everton; clubs like that had a lot of interest at an early age, and you kind of know then you're on the right path. I was about six years old and had to sign a contract at nine.

It's very difficult to pick a 17-year-old who's had 10 minutes of first-team football. You're talking about replacing senior players with some 17-year-olds who haven't played Premier League football.

I have a lot to thank Italy for. It's the country that opened the door to professional football for me.