Per Mertesacker Quotes

No man can discover his own talents.

Sometimes I think, 'Why should I care about doing well in New Zealand?'

I've always wanted to get an education, and tonight's as good a time as any.

I hated high school and got to college and realized they didn't care if I showed up because I'd already paid. So I decided, 'I'm going to turn this around.' And I did: I got straight A's and was named 'outstanding senior.'

Nobody thought that I could become a professional. I was not that good. It was really just one thing I had fun doing. But it was never realistic for me to become a professional until I became 17 or maybe 18.

It's a compliment that people think that I'm a good player. I remember when people didn't think I was good. And I remember being a rookie coming into the league with a big chip on my shoulder trying to prove myself.

I wanted to look back and say to those coaches, 'You're wrong, I'll be the one who kicks on and makes it'. Only I could change that opinion.

The fact that I am getting a doctorate in spite of being a college drop-out proves that the world can be your university.

Whether you're playing sports, starting a business or anything else in life, you need to identify your talents. Your responsibility is to find what you do better than anyone else. Once you identify what that is, you need to put yourself in the best position to succeed.

I was the undersized underdog who people never gave a chance. From that, the motivation to prove people wrong just grew and grew... Looking back now, I'm glad I didn't hit puberty until later.

My hardest lesson has been my most fruitful, too: that when people don't believe in me, I can prove them wrong.

The biggest thing is becoming a better player and proving your doubters wrong.

People leave United and tend to drift out of the game. I actually think I became a better player and a better person. I proved a lot of doubters wrong.

Even though I hated being a backup as a competitor, I embraced my role and I found ways to get better on my own.

When I was out of India's T20 team, I did feel sad but at the same time got tremendous motivation within myself to do well and come back in the team.

I'm so glad that I didn't give up on myself and there were people who didn't give up on me.

I didn't finish college, and I was very sad about that because I don't think I gave myself a chance to learn, to prove to myself that I could learn.

Throughout COVID, I just consistently grinded at my craft. I didn't let COVID get in the way of my goal and the goal is to be the best me that I can be for the team.

Maybe I was just born with a little bit of vocals or natural talent, but I feel like I taught myself.

There can be dramas in your life and you can get over them and become someone. You don't have to wallow in self-pity; you can actually use the experiences in your life to push yourself further and help others.

I'm gonna forget all the negative press and focus on being the best version of myself.

Win or lose or draw, you always go back and critique your performance and say you could have done things better. Even if I put the guy away in one round, I can go back and say I made a lot of mistakes and need to tighten up. But that's the type of person I am. Improve. Improve. Improve. When I lose I come back stronger than ever.

I look to TJ for inspiration in so many ways. One thing I learned from him is not to feel sorry for yourself.

Criticism doesn't affect me. It just makes me want to be better.

There's a lot of people that hate on me, but I'm really willing to prove 'em wrong.