The affection shown to me by the Schalke fans is extraordinary and unforgettable.

I love playing games, but also training.

I was runner-up for the Ballon d'Or once and came third on another occasion. Could I have won it? Maybe. But I don't care. Football is a team sport.

What Cristiano has been doing is huge, but Madrid have a great team with players who can still offer more. The important things is that they keep working as a unit.

When I go five games without a goal, there's always a debate. Everything else that I do on the pitch is never valued.

You need to take care of yourself, have a good diet, rest sufficiently and have a lot of enthusiasm.

Every season has its bad patches.

I like to work in a team. And for that you must have a structure that covers everything and that there is fluid communication.

Real Madrid is a very big club and bad results generate controversy.

Having Leo Messi and Barcelona is good for La Liga - it's a real delight.

What brought me here was a desire to keep playing and the exciting project the Cosmos proposed to me. As well as being able to play, which is my passion and what I like doing, they also gave me the chance to help develop a youth academy, where I can bring my experience and knowledge to bear.

Seasons are 10 months long and what matters is to get to the last two to three months in your best form.

I don't think Madrid would be Madrid without Barcelona and vice versa.

Schalke, for me, is a great adventure, and I wanted to experience new sensations away from Real Madrid.

The key is to be the best-prepared possible and that is my commitment to the club.

If you are lucky enough to avoid serious injuries then the body goes on; it's the mind that gives in. And it's the mind that you need to enable you to suffer pre-season every year.

The European leagues and teams are more competitive, very technical. It was good to work in Qatar - a good experience for me for the future. In the U.S.A., the teams and the players are improving every season.

The intensity and speed of the ball on turf are very different.

Schalke was a beautiful experience for me.

Everyone throughout the soccer world knows the Cosmos name and the legacy of the players that played for this team previously. They helped establish soccer in America and I'm honored to follow in their footsteps.

I know a lot of marathon runners who are at their best when they are close to 40. You say to yourself, 'It's 42 kilometres and they are 37 or 38 years old,' but the body can. What you have to make sure you don't lose is your head. That is the most important thing.

I think it's important to work with children and teach them the right way to train and play at a young age.

When I left Real, I left a great club but joined a great club.

I've always wanted to live in America with my family and learn more about its culture.

I'm not going to lie: not playing football will be very difficult for me.

The things you learn when you're young you don't forget.

All kids have the dream of becoming a professional soccer player, but to become that you need so many things. You have to have talent, be hard working, have support, have discipline. You also have to have ability, physical and technical, and understand the game.

It was only a matter of time until my records fell.

In the Bundesliga you don't have much time with your family.

Schalke will always be a part of my life.

It's important to get match rhythm.

The demands at Real Madrid are huge. The expectations are enormous. Sometimes, it is good. When you're winning, it's an amazing place and the fans are happy.

This is Real Madrid. You have to win titles every year. And if you don't? Oof, it's complicated.

My first choice will always be Real Madrid, but working at a global level for La Liga can't possibly offend anyone.

It is necessary that the coach has things as he wants.

I love to play, but to coach is very different.

Joining Madrid is the best thing that could happen to anyone.

I respect the decisions other players make but my life has always been about playing and all the rest of it did not really interest me.

At clubs with constant media attention it is harder.

In my head the word surrender has never existed, because that is what Real Madrid is about.

I like to do things step by step.

I spent 17 years at Real Madrid and nobody can doubt that I'm a 'madridista.'

I never tire of repeating that I feel at home at Schalke.

I'm fortunate to have a great family.

It is clear that Schalke is a special club and it is because of their fans.

I'm not a star. I am a football player, a team player.

A player does not make a team.

When you change coach it's because things have not gone well.

I've devoted my life to doing what I love: playing football.

A champion's thirst for titles should be insatiable.