Playing Opportunities Quotes

When you leave a club like Liverpool, you have to go somewhere you'll feel comfortable and progress as a player. To come to Stoke was an easy decision.

I think every footballer in the world wants to be on the pitch as much as possible.

City came in strongly for me, put their cards on the table, and what I have found out since is that every game in England is a privilege - the atmosphere, the fans, the interest that surrounds it. Every time I go out on the pitch, I know I've made the right decision.

I left Bayern because I needed the game time.

It's true that at Malaga, I played every game as a starter, but here at Madrid, they give nothing away.

I don't like it if I'm not part of the starting 11.

Like every player, I want to start more matches rather than be used as a substitute.

When you play at City with top players, you don't have a guaranteed place in the starting eleven.

I wasn't getting a lot of game-time at Liverpool, you guys could see that. I was just playing cup games and stuff like that.

The more minutes you get on the pitch, the more you can prove yourself.

It's not like I am going to Barcelona as a tourist who is there to watch Messi in action. I am not going to say that I will bench Busquets or anything! But I think I have a good chance of getting plenty of minutes.

At Palace, I feel like a first-team player, and I have got the opportunity to play every week.

It's good that I can play in two positions, as a centre-back or as a holding midfielder, as I just want to get minutes and get games.

Everybody in this league waits on an opportunity when you don't play the starter minutes, when you don't play the type of minutes you want. And with each given opportunity, you got to be ready to come out and perform.

If I had stayed at City I think I would have been someone who simply filled in when I was required. I'd rather go elsewhere and play regularly. Be a bigger part of a smaller team.

Coming to Stoke was a chance for me to develop and take my game to the next level.

I am just happy about every minute I can be on the pitch.

It is always a good thing that whoever is getting a chance in the playing XI has been performing well.

I wanted for nothing at Bayern, but the most important thing was always playing as much as I could.

Every footballer wants to play. No one is happy when they are not playing.

You come up to 20 years old and you've only played three times. You see other boys who are playing regularly in the Premier League or in the Championship. And you're thinking 'I've only played three times, no starts, they've all been five minutes here and there.'

If you're not at the elite levels there are a lot more opportunities to play tournaments.

I always wanted to be going out on loan and playing football and maturing as a goalkeeper.

I want to play more minutes. I'm a player who doesn't want to stay on the bench or not in the squad.

Like every player, I want to start more matches.