Lionel Messi

“I always thought I wanted to play professionally, and I always knew that to do that I'd have to make a lot of sacrifices. I made sacrifices by leaving Argentina, leaving my family to start a...”

“I want to concentrate on winning things with Barcelona and Argentina. Then if people want to say nice things about me when I have retired, great. Right now, I need to concentrate on being pa...”

“I repeat what I always say: I want the best for Argentina in every way. I never try to make trouble for anybody.”

“We will not take Arsenal lightly for one minute, as they showed in the two matches against us last season that they can be dangerous opponents if we lose our concentration for a moment.”

“There's nothing more satisfying than seeing a happy and smiling child. I always help in any way I can, even if it's just by signing an autograph. A child's smile is worth more than all the m...”

“I am competitive and I feel bad when we lose. You can see it in me when we've lost. I'm in a bad way. I don't like to talk to anyone.”

“Money is not a motivating factor. Money doesn't thrill me or make me play better because there are benefits to being wealthy. I'm just happy with a ball at my feet. My motivation comes from...”

“I've never stopped being Argentine, and I've never wanted to. I feel very proud of being Argentine, even though I left there. I've been clear about this since I was very young, and I never w...”

“The truth is my idea has been to always stay at Barcelona and see out the rest of my career here. Like I always say, one doesn't know what can happen in the future, but if it were up to me t...”

“For my part, I try to do my bit to make people's lives more bearable, in particular children across the globe who are having problems.”

“I prefer to win titles with the team ahead of individual awards or scoring more goals than anyone else. I'm more worried about being a good person than being the best football player in the...”

“It's scoring goals that's great, whether against Brazil or anybody else.”

“The truth is that I don't have a favourite goal. I remember important goals more than I do favourite goals, like goals in the Champions League where I had the opportunity to have scored in b...”

“It's not so easy for us when we play teams who have a different mindset, like Chelsea or Inter Milan, because they have the intention of trying to stop us rather than playing a game that is...”

“You cannot allow your desire to be a winner to be diminished by achieving success before and I believe there is room for improvement in every sportsman.”

“In football as in watchmaking, talent and elegance mean nothing without rigour and precision.”

“Like I've said many times before, I'm always more likely to remember goals for their importance rather than if they're beautiful or not. Goals scored in finals, for example.”

“Nah, I've always had a great relationship with my two brothers, I have always had their support in my football and in everything. They've been very close to me and we have a great relationsh...”

“Today I am the happiest man in the world, my son was born and thanks to God for this gift.”

“On a personal note, I think it won't be until after I've retired that I'm fully aware of what I've done or what I've gone on to achieve in my career.”