To be picked for your country at any stage is a massive honour, and to be at a huge tournament likes the Euros is such a bonus.
When I was young, I always wanted to play in the Champions League.
You can be world champion, but ranked No 6 in the world, with there being four champions.
The big-time player makes big-time plays in big-time games and that's what we need to keep doing.
I know what I bring to the table. I know my game offensively and defensively. I think I'm one of the best, if not the best, playing two-ways.
The margin for error in the Champions League is tiny.
I played professional level sports. When you're playing for money, it's a whole other level.
When you're working with the best, it helps you to be good because then you are focusing on what you have to do.
It's cool to make the playoffs. It's not cool to lose in the first round anymore. The goal is to make the Finals.
I want the Intercontinental title to be seen as more than just a 'mid-card belt.' The Intercontinental Champion used to be seen as a threat to the WWE Champion. My goal is to return the Intercontinental Championship to that level of importance.
It's kind of crazy to think I'm still 22 and going into my fifth season. Time has been flying by. I think it's about that time I really take the next step to the elite level.
If you are in the Premier League or at Barcelona, Real Madrid, or Bayern Munich, you are at an end station.
With the Selecao, every substitute is a starter in their club teams, so the competition is always top notch.
It is everyone's dream to play for England and we have got a lot of top players in that midfield and lot of competition. For me to break in there, I have got to keep the form up for club at the top level.
When I first turned elite in gymnastics, when I was 14, that's when I really became more inspired than ever. I just always kept that in the back of my mind, and always thought about making the 2012 team.
If you're looking to be a professional athlete on the top tier of any sport, my best advice is to put everything you have into it. If you're not, somebody else is. It's got to be all or nothing.
I never thought I'd be a senior player in a county side, let alone the England side. When you break into a county side, that is your aim, so it's an incredible feeling to have achieved that with England.
You have to have some form of talent. Getting to a skill-set when you can do something is achievable. Getting to a skill-set when you can do it an elite level is a different thing.
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.
To win the Champions League for a second time or even to have been in three finals and won two of them is a bit special.
It's a privilege and an honor to play for the national team, but I think that the training that I was in at Frankfurt was the highest level right underneath.
Every player would love to get to the absolute top, and Real Madrid is it.
You have to be able to deal with the pressures that playing for a big club like Hibs brings and it's not for everyone.
I am up to the speed of the Premier League, and that was what I was looking for.
When Olympique Lyon come in for you, it's not a team you turn down.
