In England, footballers are respected more, the game is more noble, there's less cheating. Every Spaniard who goes loves it - and comes back a better player. If I had ever left, it would have been to England.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
English football is really different to football in other countries.
Footballers do get a hard time, and there is a lot of generalization going on. When you get to meet players and know them as lads, it's always a bit different.
Footballers are the most vulnerable people. They exude confidence, but inside, they're so lacking in confidence. They know they can lose form or be injured. This profession is so insecure, you wouldn't believe it.
And I think because of the passion of every English player and every English supporter, and every English journalist for the game, most of the game is played with passion, love for football and instinct, but in football you also have to think.
There are hundreds and hundreds of women who are married to footballers, and we get to see a very small handful of them. They are all different individuals, and they choose the way they want to live their life or look, and I don't think it is really fair on anyone else to judge.
Football spectators appreciate a bit of loyalty, and we're seeing that less and less. There are echelons of football, as in society, where some players are clearly mercenaries. I regret in a way that somehow the local identification, the local bonding between the community and its football team has been commercialised to such an extent.
As football gets more globalised, it's probably more important than ever to have one or two players in your team who have grown up in the same streets or been to the same schools as the hard-core fans.
At the moment there are some England players who are the stars of their club teams, but not for their country. It's difficult to explain.
English football is in a bad way because the foreign players here are so good, so dominant.
Footballers are an easy target. They are offered big lines of credit. Every sport is vulnerable; it's such a big gambling industry, and there are problems with syndicates in other countries.