We're a small country, and if you look at it that way, then we're at a disadvantage, though I know that most of the players who know or have come up against Uruguayans prefer to avoid us.

Retiring from international football was a personal decision, and I was very sure about what I was doing. I played for my country for more than ten years, and there were highs and lows. It was a fantastic experience, though, and the most wonderful thing is that it ended well.

Uruguay is a small country but with a lot of football history. We've won so many things, and so the people are always expecting us to do good things.

I'd never thought of going to Japan, but the J-League came to me, and I could see that they wanted me to be part of the project. In the beginning, they said, 'We have two or three teams for you, although we cannot say which ones at the moment, but we want you as a player, as everything.'

Winning the Europa League with Atletico Madrid and then reaching a semi-final of the World Cup is great.

There were great players at United, and I just didn't have the chance to play, which was fair. It was difficult getting into the team, that's all.

The best strikers make you sit up and take notice because every time they get the ball, you think that something amazing could happen. Of course they'll score goals, but they'll have something in their game which makes you think, 'Wow, he can win this game by doing something magical.'

Argentina produces great footballers, but Uruguay does the same.

Every player loves to score goals, but hat-tricks should be savoured, as they don't happen very often.

I like every game to matter, to feel like we must win.

I can't recall playing for a team who weren't involved in a fight for points at the end of the season. That would be strange for me.

Even as a kid, I'd kick a tennis ball against a wall with both feet for hours. That was one way to become two-footed.

I have never been at a club where the players talked so much about a previous manager as they did about Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan.

People seem to love or hate Mourinho, but players tend to love him.

'Seba' Veron was one of the best players I shared a dressing room with. Not only was he technically gifted and could pass the ball accurately over distance, not only could he anticipate where players would run, but he also ran himself.

Cristiano Ronaldo joined United a year after me. He was ultra-confident, with the talent to back it up. He was dedicated, too, and practised as hard as anyone after training. You could tell that he wanted to be a great player, the greatest.

Atletico fans were always so desperate for us to win; it was like a religion to them.

To score is always special; to score in the Bernabeu for Atletico is incredible.

My compatriot Diego Godin is one of the best defenders in the world, good enough to play for any team in any league.

I'm happy to play as a centre forward or a second striker, like in the national team with Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani.

At Inter Milan, I agreed to play on the wing and didn't like it.

As a footballer, it can be enjoyable to do a proper interview where you trust the journalist to reproduce your thoughts.

Nobody comes back from a serious injury and is the same after a month or even three months. You should play in the reserves; you get your muscle back and regain your match rhythm. Psychologically, you need to build your confidence back up and you hope there are no complications. Even in a settled side, it's hard.

Two English defenders were among the finest I played against: John Terry and Rio Ferdinand.

Football has changed, and so has the relationship between the players on the pitch. Where once some players would try everything to distract opponents, now it's harder. There are TV cameras everywhere, which have much higher quality images than before. There are lip readers in studios working out what you are saying to each other.

When I see some of the pitches which my father played on, I think that it must have been a different game.

I am not saying that I am at the same level as Messi or Ronaldo. They are the best two players in the world, but I am very proud that I managed to finish above them in the goalscoring charts, especially as I was playing for Atletico Madrid, not Barcelona or Real Madrid.

Ronaldo can score every type of goal. He can use both feet, his head, take free kicks, finish from close range or outside the box. He has everything.

I've played as a lone striker and enjoyed it, especially if you have good supporting players around you. But a full season by myself? That would be hard.

I had wanted to play for Penarol since I was a boy. When I was young, I would go to their training ground, but at 18, I left Uruguay for Argentina, and my professional career started.

Big clubs with one rich owner have been one of the main changes in football since I started playing.

As a player, if a club is desperate to sign you, then you can benefit from that. Desperate clubs are prepared to pay more money; they are prepared to act decisively and play you.

As a footballer, I have always found it better not to be too emotional. Better to be cool, consistent, clinical. Celebrate goals, yes, but keep your feelings for those you trust most.

The Japanese people and their country left a huge impression on my wife and I, and we found it difficult to say goodbye before moving back to South America.

Japan is a country that works well. The trains, buses, and planes stick to their timetables. When you try to change the schedule of anything, it can confuse.

I went to Japan to experience a new culture, and I would recommend that any footballer does that. But the main reason I went was to play football.

It's hard to know when to call it a day as a footballer.

Football doesn't do sentiment well; it's a cruel profession.

It's not easy for a coach to deal with a player who is in slow decline.

When Atletico wanted to sell me, I was told that I earned too much money and they wanted me off the wage bill. I liked that honesty.

If nerves undo you, then you're unlikely to make it as a top footballer.

I love the Copa America. It showcases all the classic rivalries of South America, all those neighbours, up against each other.

In the World Cup finals, you're unlikely to meet a continental rival. In Copa America, you know they are just around the corner and that you will have to beat them to win the competition.

The passionate fans, pumped full of adrenalin, think they own their club and, by extension, the players because they play for their club. They don't. It is the club who 'own' the player, and only while he is under contract.

Players should get the best deals for themselves whenever they can. Football is a relatively short career.

There were no Manchester United fans protesting when I left their club in 2005. I wasn't one of their most important players, so I moved on, worked really hard, got my breaks, and my career took off.

I found it difficult when I first started to travel around the world as a footballer. Hotels go from places you are excited to stay in to places you get tired of pretty quickly.

I have played international games two days after travelling around the world. Your body clock is all over the place, and you are waking up at 4 AM. But once a game starts, then your adrenalin kicks in, and you seem to forget the tiredness.

Some players don't like to speak to the media or prefer to talk on live television so people can hear for themselves what is said, in real time.

Online, your quotes can now be picked up around the world, twisted, translated, and interpreted to mean the opposite of what you have actually said.