I was looking forward to playing soccer, playing more minutes on the pitch, and I didn't have the chance to play more minutes in Manchester. So I came here to the Chicago Fire.

I was looking forward my whole career to once playing somewhere else to get the experience, and if I thought about moving to England, I always had Manchester United in my head.

First of all, I think it is not easy to win a title in the Premier League, as you have really good teams here.

I have to thank the coach for looking after my fitness and allowing me to feel my way into the tournament.

It's incredibly difficult to make sure that everybody's happy.

I just want to play well, have the people in Chicago enjoy watching soccer. You have a very good baseball team, a very good ice hockey team, and a very good football team. Hopefully you'll have a very good soccer team.

There is fireworks before the game; there is the national anthem before the game, so that is a huge difference to how it is in Germany: like, after the warmup, you touch the ball 20 minutes later. So that is a little bit different. The league, for example, the MLS is quite a young league, actually, but it is developing.

My wish is that soccer in the U.S. become on the same level like the Premier League, Spanish league, or the Bundesliga.

American leagues - baseball, ice hockey, American football and basketball - you are the best. But in a global sport like soccer, you're not.

I know most of Europe do not want to play against Bayern Munich.

The small teams are playing well. That's visible, and it has had an impact on German football.

When our players come from somewhere else, they sometimes show happiness when the game is 0-0 or 1-1, but we were brought up in an environment where we have to win. We are not satisfied with 0-0 or 1-1. This is the mentality of Bayern Munich.

In Munich, we play to win.

I always want to play and help, especially when we're at the top of the league.

I'm not one to think of burying my head in the sand - I've always been a positive person and still am now.

I would love to win the Champions League once again. Winning big trophies like the Champions League or the World Cup is usually making people think, 'The players are not hungry any more.' Still, that's not what I feel.

I love standing on the pitch too much to focus on anything else - if I want to be a coach or something.

I'm not a big planner; I decide by intuition.

I'm so happy that I was able to make it to 120 games for Germany; 175 games would have been possible. I've had many great moments, but particularly the way the fans supported me and the road to the final in Rio.

I am more mature now and know how to deal with certain situations in football. It's not all about highs; there are also lows, but I can deal with it. Football is a hard business.

My absolute dream would be to play for Manchester United and help them reach the goals they have.

I have won the most national titles as a German, so what should I do after that? Lay back and take it easy? That's not how I am.

I felt within myself that I needed to change what I was doing. I needed a new stimuli. So the interest from Manchester United was a perfect fit.

Roy Keane and Paul Scholes were unbelievable players. You cannot compare yourself to them. It is impossible. Scholes especially, I like him a lot, and I have a lot of respect for what he did for United.