The 18 Best Soccer Quotes Of All Time

Football is full of crazy characters, some more crazy than others, as the best soccer quotes ever illustrate. But what often makes a player or manager unique is the way in which they deal with the media. Some are very receptive, while others are not so much. 

From a player or manager interacting with the media, or any other people really, they gift us some brilliant quotes. Whether it be about the game, a player, or even the journalist themselves, players and managers are never short when it comes to delivering an all-time quote.

Here’s our pick of the 18 best soccer quotes of all time.

The 18 Best Soccer Quotes Of All Time

#18

Mario Balotelli on one of his rather interesting views on life:

“When I score, I don’t celebrate because it’s my job. When a postman delivers letters, does he celebrate?”

#17

Literally anything from Michael Owen, but this one takes the cake:

“Whichever team scores more goals usually wins.”

#16

Alan Hansen on Sir Alex Ferguson’s use of young players, but he’s eating his words today:

“You can’t win anything with kids.”

#15

Mark Viduka:

“I would not be bothered if we lost every game as long as we won the league.”

#14

Gordon Strachan on Wayne Rooney’s meteoric rise as a young footballer:

“It’s an incredible rise to stardom. At 17 you’re more likely to get a call from Michael Jackson than Sven Goran Eriksson.”

#13

Cristiano Ronaldo on what motivates him:

“Your love makes me strong. Your hate makes me unstoppable.”

#12

Ruud Gullit on why he probably needs to go back to learn basic mathematics:

“We must have had 99% of the game. It was the other 3% that cost us the match.”

#11

Claudio Ranieri on his promise to his players:

“I told them, if you keep a clean sheet, I’ll buy pizza for everybody.”

#10

Steven Gerrard after defeating Manchester City, but a hilarious foreshadowing of what was to come against Chelsea:

“This does not f*****g slip now. This does not f*****g slip. Listen. Listen. This is gone. We go to Norwich. Exactly the same. We go again. Come on!”

#9

Roy Keane on his style of play:

“Aggression is what I do. I go to war. You don’t contest football matches in a reasonable state of mind.”

#8

Brazilian Ronaldo on his younger days:

“Every time I went away I was deceiving my mom. I’d tell her I was going to school but I’d be out on the street playing football. I always had a ball on my feet.”

#7

Pep Guardiola:

“That’s the beauty of sport. Sometimes you laugh, sometimes you cry.”

#6

Zlatan is full of some of the most entertaining quotes in soccer, but this one will surely hang over the head of Arsene Wenger for eternity:

“Zlatan doesn’t do auditions.”

#5

Jose Mourinho when he first arrived at Chelsea from Porto:

“Please do not call me arrogant because what I say is true. I’m European champion. I’m not one out of the bottle, I think I’m a special one.”

#4

John Lambie on Partick Thistle striker Colin McGlashan being concussed and not knowing who he was:

“Tell him he’s Pele and get him back on.”

#3

Marcelo Bielsa on how people perceive his tactics:

“A man with new ideas is a madman, until his ideas triumph.”

#2

Bill Shankly on the beautiful game as a whole:

“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I don’t like that attitude. I can assure them it is much more serious than that.”

#1

Kevin Keegan’s infamous post-match interview after beating Leeds 1-0 and addressing Sir Alex Ferguson’s comments toward him:

“But I’ll tell you, you can tell him now if you’re watching it, we’re sill fighting for this title, and he’s got to go to Middlesbrough and get something, and … and … I’ll tell you, honestly, I will love it if we beat them. Love it.”