Juan Mata Quotes

People call me Wayne Wonder and it also goes back to football because I could do mad skills with the ball and people would marvel and wonder how I could do it.

I've always tried to be a complete athlete and not limit myself to one position or one sport. It really helped mold my whole football game.

I'm not worried that Germany will always have strikers that are of international calibre.

He has ambition and hunger, but I would not say Messi is the only piece of art at Barca.

I think there are a lot of great strikers in Europe.

When God built Pele, he put everything that a player needs in him. He knew how to shoot, how to dribble, how to head, be physical. He had everything that a football player needs to have. It's difficult for someone to achieve what he has in football.

Cristiano has a lot to his game - he is good in the air, his shooting is perfect, his left foot perfect, and he is more of a striker than a winger now, a No. 9.

Manchester City didn't pay all that money for me because they saw me once on YouTube. They saw me scoring good goals. And I haven't forgotten how to score goals.

I think I have great hands out of the backfield.

There are a lot of great midfielders in the world, with each having their own unique style.

I was good. I probably could have gone to the NFL. I just hated practice.

I think Callum Hudson-Odoi can go to the top.

The most skillful is Thierry Henry, he has impressed me the most. He's played a great tournament(Euro '00). He has the pace of Anelka, and the sense of Trezeguet. He's got something that no French player has ever had. He can do everything: from scoring goals, to giving assists, crossing and creating space for other players, and he fights for every ball. I've never see a player in France like him

There are some things Ronaldo can do with a football that make me touch my head and wonder how on earth he did it.

I still have a lot of room for improvement. For example, I want to shoot equally well with both feet.

Geoff Hurst had a hammer in his left boot and good left feet are like bricks of gold.

Footwork is one of the primary prerequisites to becoming a great player

We can't replace Gary Speed - where do you get an experienced player like him with a left foot and a head?

He(C. Ronaldo) makes the most difficult plays look easy.

Just because you're big doesn't mean you can't be an athlete. And just because you work out doesn't mean you're going to have a 12-pack.

Ronaldo is a unique player for all of his talent and his professionalism. He is a player who is extraordinarily consistent.

For such a small man Maradona gets great elevation on his balls

Ledley King would get the ball off you without you even noticing he's the only defender in England who doesn't hold onto you, and he sometimes still gets the ball off my feet easily.

Being thick isn't an affliction if you're a footballer, because your brains need to be in your feet. And Beckham works hard, he's brave and he crosses a ball superbly. He treats a football like he does a wife, lovingly, with caresses.