They used to have selection days for all the local kids and I went to these trials three times and got turned down every time. On the third time I was so upset because I thought I was not good enough. I was eight years old and I had the feeling, 'That's it, I don't want to play for Ajax any more!'

I'm not the type of player who gives up.

To be a supersub is mentally hard.

To be underestimated is my biggest motivation.

It is clear I have enough qualities to be in the starting XI of Liverpool. But when you never get a real chance, it's difficult.

English fans and the English atmospheres are special.

As far as I can judge, English football is not for everybody. You need to have the lungs for it, you need to have the strength for it.

I liked mostly to play football on the ground and have a little bit of playing tactics rather than just up and down, long balls and second balls. That's not really my game.

If there isn't a team that plays my type of game I don't think I could make a big difference. I have to be realistic.

In Holland, you can step into the manager's office and ask him for clarity if you don't know why you're not playing and they are open with you.

I definitely made the wrong choices. I left Holland too early, I probably should've stayed one more year for my development, but these things happen.

Turkish people are very emotional, very passionate about football, really want to see their team do well.

For a 20 year old the gap from Holland to England is massive. That's a fact. Not all players are able to settle in directly from day one. I remember even Van Persie needed two, three years but he became Van Persie.

I was only used to 4-3-3. For me as a left-winger you have also a left midfielder and a left-back behind you. But in a 4-4-2 you are basically also the left midfielder so you have to help more in defence and I wasn't used to that.

I came from Ajax where you play 4-3-3 and as a winger they didn't want you to defend.

A lot of things that were written about me bothered me, like my mentality was not good.

In the English 4-4-2 you have to change your mentality from a winger to a left midfielder, having to help your full-back.

I was 20 years old went I went to the Premier League. When you are 20, you need from other people, you need people to talk to you. But when I went over there, nobody helped me.

When I left Liverpool, I could have stayed in England but that would have meant joining clubs that didn't play football - just a long-ball game.

I have never been a difficult person.

I came in on time, I was always a professional.

If you are young and you don't get rewarded with game-time, or don't come into games, it is difficult to try to still be hungry in the training sessions.

There were situations in my career where I played much better than another player in my position, but that player had a better name in terms of commercial appeal.

A lot of people talked down about my career at some point, which makes sense.

No, I never doubted my ability.

Liverpool is my club. I try to follow every game. I still support them, I wish them all the best.

Not everybody is following every league in the world so the Champions League is a platform where everybody can see what you're still able to do.

Those types of players are always necessary in a team, who are very creative and can break a game open.

I play for my country and I am an established international.

Every footballer plays with the hope that people love to watch you. But, for me, there is no sympathy or interest. I don't seem to have any charm for fans.

If you are 20 you don't have the same life experiences as at 25.

People try to warn you about certain things, but sometimes you have to experience those things yourself.

England is the biggest league in the world. Of course, you have Barcelona and Real Madrid but, as a league, England is in my opinion the best in the world.

My feeling about Al Ain was very positive, was very good, and if my feeling wasn't like that I would never have come.

The Premiership is maybe the best league, it's a very high level.

It is a normal thing for a young player to want to prove himself in the Premiership.

Nobody likes me. I know that the Holland boss, Ronald Koeman, appreciates me. But for pundits, TV commentators and in the media, I don't even exist.

If you misuse the things you have been given, God has the ability to take your talent away. That's the way it is for me and that is why a lot of religious people are grateful to their God.

I have played for Ajax, Liverpool and Besiktas in Turkey - all massive clubs in Europe.

Scoring a goal is always wonderful and gives any player confidence.

My parents were very strict and had rules for me and, if ever I was playing outside, I always had a set time to come back in.

I went to the UAE aged 28, which normally doesn't make sense to go at that age.

England is of course a great country to play in, and I'll always be open for a return. But it has to be a club I feel good about.

Everything I did on the left I had to learn in a 4-4-2 system, it wasn't natural. To collect the ball on my wrong foot.

Not everyone is Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. Even Cristiano Ronaldo's first years at Manchester United were quite difficult.

The important thing, is to believe in a better future.

I'm not really making decisions that people normally expect.

I suppose people lost interest in me when I left Liverpool; but it wasn't me who left, it was other people who left me. If people had continued to follow me, they would have seen my two good seasons in Turkey which caught the attention of Besiktas and Galatasaray.

Football players have to grow up very fast. It's a tough life sometimes.

Liverpool are a very good team everybody knows that and I am proud to be part of Liverpool.