Sometimes you look at footballers and think they're selfish or they don't bring a good image to society. But sometimes people underestimate footballers and their capacity to have a strong opinion and sympathy for others.
Juan Mata
Everything depends on the club more than the player: the quantities, the paperwork.
I don't dab, bro.
One of the best things if you are a football player is to see the faces of the kids, when they see you and are dreaming of being like you one day. That's a big responsibility, to be a good image for those kids. A football player is more than just a football player.
One of the first lessons I learned in football is that it takes a team to win a game.
I see children now, and many things surprise me: they ask me about my boots and why I don't dye my hair. I wonder, 'Why don't you talk to me about how to cross the ball, control it, the position of the body when I strike the ball?'
I've been in England for a while, but it's true that at times you miss home, your family, your friends.
I live in a bubble. Real life is the one my friends live. They've had to look for work, sign on to the dole, and emigrate. That's normal life now. My life as a footballer is not normal.
A coach depends on whether I take a corner well or finish a chance in front of goal, and really, what influence does he have over this when it happens?
When I signed for Valencia, it wasn't the best moment of my football career because in the beginning, I was not playing a lot. But I remained calm, and I knew that if I trained well and played as I know, I'm sure I can get a place in the first XI.
To be honest, I was never expecting to be in a World Cup final, a Euro final, a Champions League final, a Europa League final. I've done much more than I dreamt, and that's incredible.
The business side of football makes it seem as though the owners are now more important than the fans.
A win doesn't last too long, and it happens the same way with a defeat. You have the chance to make it up soon afterwards.
I've tried to improve - defending, attacking, pressing, trying to think before a game, to be more clever, do something before the defender can think of it, to become a better player. That makes me feel good, that hunger to improve in every way.
Wherever I go, I see kids playing football. Even if there is no grass and it's just sweaters for goals, you see how people love football.
Real Madrid wanted me to join their academy. It was a big decision to move when I was 15. It's a key age for a youngster, and you're close to your friends and family. But I moved to Madrid, and my family stayed at home. It made me mature earlier than normal. That was a very big decision, and it changed me in a positive way.
When you are in a club like Manchester United, you have a lot of pressure around you.
You never know what can happen in football and in life.
If you want to be anonymous, you can go to Soho or Camden, and it's not a problem. There are a lot of Spanish people. If you go to Piccadilly or Oxford Circus, you hear lots of Spanish voices, but I'm not recognised much.
Luck - it's key for every footballer's career. I have been incredibly lucky during my career and in my life.
As I always say, one of the best things of football is that the game is testing you all the time.
I train a lot. After training sessions, I like to stay with some balls and some goalkeepers - they help me a lot, too.
Obviously, when I play well and win a trophy, I feel happy about myself.
With respect to the world of football, I earn a normal wage. But compared to 99.9% of Spain and the rest of the world, I earn an obscene amount.
If you want to give 100 per cent, you have to feel that you are important for the manager.
I'm a person who doesn't think bad about other people or feel happy when other people don't get results.
If you face the goalkeeper, you have to wait for him to go and then put the ball in the other side. It's easy to say it but not so easy to do it when you are in the 88th minute of a game. So you must practise.
For me, football is what I love to do most. It is also the thing I'm better doing than anything else.
It would be great to play until I'm 40 like Ryan Giggs.
Chelsea is a top club, and I have many friends there, but you cannot turn down the chance to join Manchester United.
That's what I work for every day: training and playing to the maximum, trying to do the best I can.
I admire Arsenal and the philosophy that the young players have. Liverpool, with their Spanish players, they also have an incredible squad. And Manchester United and Chelsea are teams that are very big, like Real Madrid and Barcelona, with money and incredible players.
I had the luck of being in Madrid. They sign some of the best players in the world, and that really leaves fewer opportunities for young players.
I'll always be proud to say I played at Chelsea, at Valencia, in the youth system at Real Madrid, in the youth system at Real Oviedo, and for United.
Maybe the yoga I do helps me to play as much as I do. It certainly gets you in the right frame of mind, stretches and relaxes you.
The managers I've known all had their own specific way of working.
You have to feel free enough to do what your body is telling you to do. Sometimes, though, the pressure of winning and the fear of defeat limit your performance.
English football is changing: the champions don't play a 'typical' English style, for example. But in general, it's quicker than in Spain: more counter-attacks, more open, more direct.
I'm trying to know every part of London, to improve my English and enjoy the football. On my days off, I go to different parts of the city.
Winning the World Cup is something that will always be inside your mind and inside your body.
I think that being confident gives you more freedom. It liberates you, helps you have the courage to do things on the football pitch.
When I heard of United's interest, I thought, 'Wow.' This is a team that has won a lot of leagues in the history of the Premier League and English league.
I feel privileged to play for Manchester United. It is something, when I'm old, I will always be proud of.
For me, good football is not about how many skills you show or how many players you beat. It's about making the right decision every time you have the ball.
I have always been a very positive person and tried to bring the positives from the hardest moments.
I don't like to think about others losing or not performing well. No, no - I'm not that kind of person.
We have professional football, but we also have a beautiful game which, wherever you go, can be used as a social tool for change. Football has an unmatchable power.
I would like to win the Premier League.
I am not so old, but when I started out, we had none of this. We did not have the need to show the things we do and the good life we lead. That is dangerous. Social networks can be very positive because it's a great vehicle to communicate, but perhaps things need to be done in a different way.
For me, it would be the perfect summer to play in the Euros and then the Olympics. My desire is to play in both.
