Athlete Quotes

I went see the horror thriller, Hannibal. I am a massive fan of Anthony Hopkins. He is superb in the film.

I played at the Sainte Maxime Beach Soccer Tournament, which was brilliant fun as usual.

I loved being back out on the pitch. Although I have not been in full training, I felt pretty good.

I know the game wasn't a classic, but the night was about more than that-it was about bringing back the memories and raising money for former heroes who have now fallen on hard times.

I kept an interested eye on the transfer window in England, which opened and closed last month, and the lack of frantic activity just goes to show the current financial state of the game right now.

I have shaved my head. My flowing locks are now quite a bit shorter.

I have recently started acting lessons in south France, and I intend to commence acting lessons at Rada.

I have found a flat on Merseyside and am settling down here. If I can keep playing and get back to full match fitness, I know I have a lot to offer still.

I have been looking after the children. My wife has taken time off.

I have been keeping myself fit. I am going on holiday next week in the Mediterranean so that I can really unwind after the football season and have a rest.

I have been inundated with offers to move into a career in television or film, and these, too, are tempting.

I am still feeling my calf strain, so I have been unable to train this week. I will again have to sit out the weekend action, but the lads are climbing ever higher to safety.

I am hoping to film another ad in the summer for Carte Noire.

Football will always be my foremost passion.

English football has just had a transfer window imposed for the first time, so it will be interesting to see how managers cope with the squads they have until it re-opens.

The prospect of going home is very appealing.

What you've got to realise is that footballers, and me in particular, have seen everything in the changing room. Everything. I've seen the manager kicking off with the players, the players kicking off with him, players fighting each other, managers fighting, everything.

Too much money at a young age, it just takes your eye off the ball. And you're not as hungry as players used to be. You think you've made it before you've done anything.

It's not just the players, it's the culture. Sometimes it's the people around them; the people who are looking after them - the money they're given. Some of the families give up their jobs and live off their sons. That would never have happened 10 years ago.

I've put myself forward to be involved. Whether I get picked, we'll have to wait and see. Obviously everybody is excited about it, about the Olympics coming to London and the football being played in different parts of Britain.

I had my footballing heroes such as Bryan Robson and Diego Maradona but my dad was a rugby league star, and he was my real hero. But the relationship with my mum was rocky and we saw things that would affect any youngster.

I had an early taste of fame. I was 20, going out with TV presenter Dani Behr and we'd have paparazzi chasing us. I'm not comfortable being photographed, though I accept it is part of the job. I had to ask myself, 'What comes first, being a celebrity or footballer?'

He was a professional rugby player in the area that I played as a youngster. So a lot of people who I went to school with knew who he was and knew that he was black. So I would get racist taunts in school.

Celebrity culture, it's everywhere, isn't it? It's reality TV, Big Brother. I didn't become a footballer to be famous, I became a footballer to be successful. I didn't want to be famous. Now people want to be famous. Why? Why would you want people following you about all day?

Where does it stop? You get offered money for your wedding, then for your kids, new houses, holidays... We earn enough from football and sponsorships, why do you need any more?

If I feel I'm not influencing games, not scoring goals or making goals, then that's the time I'd pack it in.

As a footballer I can't imagine life without the use of one of my legs... Sadly this is exactly what happens to thousands of children every year when they accidentally step on a landmine.

A lot of people don't know that my father is black.

I am proud of my black roots and of the black blood that runs in my veins.

I do not wish to hide my origins, nor do I seek to make it a subject of conversation. I am what I am.