Mike Phelan Quotes

Not every young player is going to succeed at Barca.

When you are very young and come through at a club, like I did at Sunderland, I suppose people do not expect as much and have not really heard much about you. Whereas, when you sign for a club, the expectations are higher.

When you're playing for a great team like Madrid, with a lot of pressure because you have to win every game, it's a difficult life.

I've played for Real Madrid, where the pressure is so huge because you have to go and really win absolutely every game.

People in Real ask me about Mateo Kovacic all the time. He is a phenomenal talent and will play in some of the biggest clubs. Inter is a big club, no doubt, but Kovacic will play in even bigger.

It's important to get a good start at a top club like Real. When things are going badly, you can overcome it quickly at a top club.

When you are in a club like Manchester United, you have a lot of pressure around you.

I started at Benfica: not as big but one of the biggest clubs in Portugal. I've played for Real Madrid. Then I moved to Manchester United, from a giant to another giant.

It's normal that there's pressure at Real Madrid.

When you play for Barcelona, there is always pressure to win - you play for something special. It's the same when you player for Tottenham; the names are not important.

If you play at a world-class team like Chelsea, you have to perform every day.

We talked with PSG, but quickly, I knew that it wasn't where I wanted to go. In France, for me, it was only Lyon. PSG could have enabled me to make progress because they have great players, but I wanted to experience another league.

At 21, Real Madrid or Barcelona would have been more difficult for me. If I play well enough at Chelsea, I could win my place in the starting team, and my priority is to play.

I knew my first game at Everton wasn't going to be a stroll around the pitch.

If young players are capable of playing 90 minutes every week at European clubs why prevent them from doing that?

I'm a player coming into Manchester United, I've got to adapt like every other, no matter how old I am.

I played for four different clubs in France; I played for Marseille, which is one of the biggest clubs.

Growing up, I was often put under a lot of pressure. Being an athlete, I've been dealing with pressure for a long time.

If all goes well, I can play for many years at Barcelona.

When you play in a great club like Real Madrid, it's hard to stay here.

My absolute dream would be to play for Manchester United and help them reach the goals they have.

I've been yelled at by coaches since I was 12 years old playing AAU basketball.

In any national team, the young players who have quality and the right mentality will stand out. And that's how it should be.

Ajax always bring through young players from their academy - we can't pay €20m for a player, so we make sure we develop those players and give them the opportunity to play.

In 2008, I moved to Lyon, one of France's top clubs. I had some very strong team mates, and I proved to be at their level. I began training very hard and always respecting my coach's advice.