interesting to see the love between them

“That summer [2022], us and Man City were the only teams that said we made money. For us, we did make money, because we sold Raphinha, we sold Kalvin Phillips [to City]. We had a lot left over from what we bought. At the time, we weren’t in a position financially to not save. Our ownership didn’t have deep pockets. Whereas when Man City says this, I was literally like, ‘Are you kidding me? Is this some kind of joke?’

“We wanted to exchange shirts, but we didn’t get any. They wouldn’t even allow us to enter their player corridor. Security was turning everyone away. Players were coming with their shirts hoping to swap them with Argentina players.”

Rohr said he waited for over 30 minutes after the final whistle, when his counterpart Lionel Scaloni signed an old Messi Argentina matchday-worn shirt that he had in his possession.

Kylian Mbappé after the game against Paraguay : "We knew what kind of match it would be. It's great the game we got and how we played it. We show that we're not just only a team who can play an offensive-minded football, if we had to play dirty, we can play dirty. It doesn't bother us. They thought we would show up in tuxedos, doing great plays and one-two passes. We know how to shithouse too. We did it today, we won and even in that sector, we were better than them.

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“So if a club like us, Tottenham, who had been competing for titles, competing with the other teams up there, finishing in the top four every year, reaching a Champions League semifinal without having been able to sign anyone for 18 months because we had to comply with the rules the Premier League imposed on us — how could those controls have been so strict with us and so much less strict with some others?” Pochettino asked. “That’s why I say the whole thing is very strange. And that’s the problem: everything becomes very, very murky, and it’s very, very difficult to draw a conclusion.“

“There’s a funny side to it because you get the sense that, for some people, it’s all in good fun. But there’s also a side that’s not so funny because we know the damage people like that have caused throughout history. Being compared to people who murder others, or who have made millions and millions of people miserable... I don’t think I’ve ever done anything like that in my life. So there’s a mix of things. On the one hand, I know it’s done in a lighthearted way and doesn’t go that far, but it sometimes shows a lack of political and human awareness in people. Ousmane is a different story. He just took it from social media! For him, it's just for laughs."

"I wasn’t angry or surprised. It only confirmed what I already knew. Over all those years at Liverpool, it was clear that we were fighting against an opponent who had an unfair advantage."

"Imagine how much more legendary that team Jurgen Klopp gradually built would be if they had got what they really deserved for the unbelievable football they played. Then you’ve got Brendan Rodgers’ legacy. How he’s regarded by Liverpool fans would be completely different if he had brought the league title back to Anfield in 2013-14. I also think of Steven Gerrard that season. He should have capped off an amazing career with a Premier League winners’ medal."

“The problems, in my opinion, are very simple. I prefer to give practical explanations rather than technical ones, based on everyday life and what I see in Italy.”

“When we were little, we played hours and hours of football. I remember my mum getting mad at me because I’d stay out until it was too dark to see the ball. They’d threaten you that you couldn’t go out to play the next day. Now, when I walk around cities like Brescia, though I see it in other Italian cities too, the parks are empty. There’s no one around.”

“Computers, phones, and PlayStations have ruined a lot. Above all, the parents’ mentality has changed. A seven‑year-old kid today might play football for two hours every three days. We had the same structured training sessions, plus three hours of playing at the park every day, which felt like fun but was actually extra training. I truly believe talents were born on the street and in the parks. You played a lot, learned a lot, and tested yourself against older kids. If you were good, they didn’t let you play with kids your age; they made you play with the older ones. Those were tests that served me well in the long run. Playing with people older than me has always been one of the most important things in my career.”

“Today, kids are on their phones. They feel like Ronaldinho because they watch his videos. I felt like Ronaldo because I could actually pull off the same tricks at the park. It’s very different.”

Despite his pessimism over the state of Italian football, Balotelli, who earned 36 caps for the Azzurri, scoring 14 goals, remains confident of a bright future. “Yes, I think so for the upcoming generations,” he predicts. “Maybe not right away, but in the next two or three generations. It’s normal for a country to have downturns but then you bounce back. Spain, France, and Germany have all had them.”

"I haven't seen that. In my opinion, there's absolutely no reason to give any thoughts about these people. I have little time for stupidity in real life, and not on social media either. The big problem in our lives is that everyone can express their opinion on social networks. People spout nonsense, it's madness. Our group couldn't be more united. The world could learn a thing or two from a sports dressing room"