The Language of Football: The 100 Greatest Football (Soccer) Quotes
The 100 Most Iconic Quotes About Football (Soccer)
One simple ball that unites us all - you can’t deny the impact football has had on the whole world!
Read the top 100 greatest football quotes of all time, including old favourites and thoughts from famous players.
Ronaldo: When he speaks, you should listen
From the streets of Brazil to the fields of Europe, football has brought together people of all races, religions and cultures.
It has taught us the importance of teamwork and discipline - and it has inspired countless individuals to pursue their dreams.
From the electrifying energy on the field to the roaring crowds in the stands, football keeps everyone on the edge of their seats, eagerly anticipating the next move.
Millions across the globe tune in to watch their favourite teams and players battle it out, holding their breaths with each goal, and cheering with every victory.
The beautiful game has the power to unite people from all walks of life, to inspire teamwork, sportsmanship and perseverance.
It's no wonder football is the most popular sport in the world.
Football players have become role models for aspiring athletes, and their dedication to the sport has inspired many to push beyond their limits.
We have compiled a list of the 100 greatest quotes about football - all of them from football experts, athletes and players to perfectly capture the essence of this beautiful game.
The 100 Greatest Football Quotes
"Soccer is simple, but it is difficult to play simple." - Johan Cruyff, reported by The New York Times.
"Football is like chess, only without the dice." - Lukas Podolski, reported by Goal.
"Football is not just a game, it's an art form. You have to be creative, think outside the box, and always be one step ahead of your opponent." - Ronaldinho, reported by The Independent.
"The game of football is like a canvas, and it’s up to the players to paint the most beautiful picture." - Diego Maradona reported by Goal Cast.
"Football is not about one or two or three star players. It's about the team." – Xavi, reported by Goal.
"When you're a goalkeeper, it doesn't matter how well you play; if you make one mistake and it costs the game, it's a bad day." - Tim Howard, reported by BrainyQuote.
"In football, the result is an impostor. You can do things really, really well but not win. There's something greater than the result, more lasting - a legacy." - Xavi, reported by The Guardian.
"Every kid around the world who plays soccer wants to be Pele. I have a great responsibility to show them not just how to be like a soccer player, but how to be like a man." - Pelé, reported by The Telegraph.
"There are always new, grander challenges to confront, and a true winner will embrace each one." - Mia Hamm, former women’s US national team striker, reported by Goal.
"Aim for the sky and you'll reach the ceiling. Aim for the ceiling and you'll stay on the floor." - Bill Shankly, former Liverpool manager, reported by the BBC.
"When you grow up playing soccer, it's almost a given that you're going to love sports in general." - Landon Donovan, reported by AZ Quotes.
“Football is an art, like dancing is an art - but only when it's well done does it become an art." - Arsene Wenger, former manager of Arsenal, reported by The Independent.
"The most important thing in football is what happens on the pitch." - Lionel Messi, reported by Goal.
"Football is more than just a game. It can bring hope and joy to people's lives." - Didier Drogba, reported by CNN.
"In football, the greatest satisfaction is winning when they say you can’t." - Robert Lewandowski, reported by Sports Illustrated.
"Age is just a number. What really matters is your passion for the game and your determination to succeed." - Roger Milla, reported by BBC Sport.
"Football is a game you play with your brain." - Johan Cruyff, reported by Goal.
"If you don’t believe you’re the best, then you will never achieve all that you are capable of." - Cristiano Ronaldo, reported by The Sun.
"I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and you put the work and time into it." - Andres Iniesta, reported by The Guardian.
"If you're not playing with passion, then you're not playing football." - Thierry Henry, reported by Goal.
"Football is a team game, and you need everyone working together to achieve success." - Didier Drogba, reported by AZ Quotes.
"To me, football is the simplest and most complex game. Simple because it's played with a ball, and complex because there are so many ways to play it." - Andres Iniesta, reported by Goal.
“The smartest thing I did is I never gave up.” - Ivan Rakitic, reported by Sports Quotes.
"Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that." - Bill Shankly, former Liverpool manager reported by The Independent.
"Football is the only thing that can bring together an entire country, regardless of political or religious differences." - Zinedine Zidane, reported by Goal.
"Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win." - Gary Lineker reported by The Guardian.
"Football is a game of mistakes. Whoever makes the fewest mistakes wins." - Johan Cruyff, reported by Goal.
"I’m the defender who tries to make the play." - Paolo Maldini, reported by FIFA.
"I once cried because I had no shoes to play soccer, but one day, I met a man who had no feet." - Zinedine Zidane, reported by The Guardian.
"The vision of a champion is someone who is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion when no one else is watching." - Mia Hamm, reported by Goalcast.
"I start early and I stay late, day after day, year after year, it took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success." - Lionel Messi, reported by CNN.
"In football, the worst blindness is only seeing the ball." - Nelson Falcão Rodrigues, Brazilian playwright and journalist, reported by Goal.
"You can't just beat a team, you have to leave a lasting impression in their minds so they never want to see you again." - Mia Hamm, reported by Sports Illustrated.
"Some people tell me that we professional players are soccer slaves. Well, if this is slavery, give me a life sentence." - Sir Bobby Charlton, reported by The Guardian.
“Talent isn’t everything. You can have it from the cradle, but it is necessary to learn the trade to be the best.” –Christiano Ronaldo, reported by The Highlights App.
"I think football is more than a game, it is a passion. It is something that comes from inside and touches people's hearts." - Yaya Touré, reported by Sky Sports.
"Football is the poetry of a motion." - Arsene Wenger, reported by Goal.
"I am not a perfectionist, but I like to feel that things are done well. More important than that, I feel an endless need to learn, to improve, to evolve, not only to please the coach and the fans, but also to feel satisfied with myself." - Cristiano Ronaldo, forward for Manchester United, reported by CNN Sport.
"Football is the most important of the less important things in the world." - Carlo Ancelotti, reported by The Telegraph.
"Football is a game that transcends all boundaries. It has the power to unite people from different cultures and nations." - Roger Milla, reported by The Independent.
"I've worked too hard and too long to let anything stand in the way of my goals. I will not let my teammates down, and I will not let myself down." - Tim Howard, reported by Goalcast.
"Football is not just about winning, it's about playing beautiful." - Johan Cruyff, reported by Goal
"The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning." - Pelé, reported by The Guardian
"Football is like life, it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication, and respect for authority." - Vince Lombardi, Jr., reported by Football.com
"Success is not just about winning trophies, it's about making a positive impact on the world." - Didier Drogba, reported by Goal.
"The ball is my best friend." - Pelé, former Brazil striker, reported by BBC.
"Football is a game that is played with the brain. We have to use our heads." - Pelé, reported by The New York Times.
"Soccer is not just a sport, it's an art. It's a way of expressing yourself on the field." - Hidetoshi Nakata, reported by CNN.
"The beauty of football is that everyone can contribute in their own way, no matter how big or small their role may be." – Philipp Lahm, reported by Goal.
"The ball is round, the game lasts ninety minutes, and everything else is just theory." - Sepp Herberger, reported by Goal Cast.
"I never thought about the records I was breaking, I just wanted to score goals and help my team win." - Romario, reported by ESPN.
"Football is a universal language. It brings people together, irrespective of their nationalities, cultures or beliefs." - George Weah, reported by Al Jazeera.
"The most important thing in football is what happens on the pitch." - Lionel Messi, reported by Goal.
“You can overcome anything, if and only if you love something enough.” ― Lionel, on his social media profile.
"Football is the ballet of the masses." - Dmitri Shostakovich, reported by The Guardian.
"The greatest happiness in my life is to see people happy because of me, because of football." - Samuel Eto'o, reported by BBC Sport.
"The beauty of football is that anyone can beat anyone." - Paulo Dybala, reported by Goal.
"If you're not going to work hard, there's no point in waking up." - Neymar Jr., reported by FourFourTwo.
"Soccer has taken me to places I never thought I would go, and allowed me to meet people from all over the world." - Tim Cahill, reported by The Guardian
"I have many years to get better and better, and that has to be my ambition. The day you think there is no improvements to be made is a sad one for any player." - Lionel Messi, forward for Paris Saint-Germain, reported by Goal.
"Soccer belongs to the fans and the players. As long as I'm involved in the game, I want to give back." – David Beckam, reported by CNN.
"I don't believe skill was, or ever will be, the result of coaches. It is a result of a love affair between the child and the ball." - Roy Keane, former Manchester United midfielder, reported by The Guardian.
"Football is not just about winning or losing. It's about how you play the game and the values you represent." - Ali Daei, reported by The AFC.
"The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime." - Babe Ruth, former baseball player who also played soccer, reported by Goal.
"Look, I'm a coach, I'm not Harry Potter. He is magical, but in reality there is no magic. Magic is fiction and football is real." - Jose Mourinho, former manager of Manchester United, reported by The Guardian.
"I’m not a superhero, I’m not invincible." - Neymar Jr., reported by Bleacher Report.
"I'm just a simple guy playing football." - Mohamed Salah, reported by Sky Sports.
"Soccer is a game in which everyone does a lot of running around. Twenty-one guys stand around and one guy does a tap dance with the ball." - Jim Murray, reported by Forbes.
"When people succeed, it is because of hard work. Luck has nothing to do with success." - Diego Maradona, former Argentina midfielder, reported by Goal.
"In football as in watchmaking, talent and elegance mean nothing without rigour and precision." - Lionel Messi, reported by The Guardian.
"My philosophy? Well, I think it's pretty simple. You work hard, you play hard, and you control your emotions. That's it." - Carlo Ancelotti, former manager of AC Milan, reported by FourFourTwo.
"Football is the world's greatest drama, with billions of people watching and dreaming." - FIFA
"The true champion believes in the impossible." - Usain Bolt, former Jamaican sprinter and soccer fan, reported by Goal.
"I don't want to be remembered as a good goalkeeper. I want to be remembered as a great person." - Gianluigi Buffon, reported by UEFA.
"Soccer is the one sport where you can do anything with the ball, and it's perfectly legal." - Clint Dempsey, reported by AZ Quotes.
“When people criticize me, instead of putting my head down, it gives me energy to do even more.” – Zlatan Ibrahimovic, reported by The New York Times.
"Football is a universal language, a passport to adventure." – Pelé, from his autobiography "My Life and the Beautiful Game," published in 1977.
"When I score, I don't celebrate because it's my job. When a postman delivers letters, does he celebrate?" – Mario Balotelli, reported by Goal.
"I always thought I wanted to play professionally, and I always knew that to do that I'd have to make a lot of sacrifices. I made sacrifices by leaving Argentina, leaving my family to start a new life. I changed my friends, my people. Everything. But everything I did, I did for football, to achieve my dream." - Lionel Messi, reported by The Guardian.
"If you're attacking, you don't get as tired as when you're chasing." - Kyle Rote Jr., reported by Sports Illustrated.
"Football is a simple game. You need a ball and a place to play. But what makes it great is the passion and skill of the players." - Ali Daei, reported by FIFA.
“Soccer is the most beautiful sport in the world. If a person messes up, soccer doesn’t have to pay. I messed up, and I paid. But the ball... The ball does not stain.” ― Diego Maradona, from his book "El Diego: The Autobiography of the World's Greatest Footballer," published in 2004.
"I'm a warrior on the field and a true friend off it." - Luis Suarez, reported by Goal.
"Football is not just a game, it's a way of life. It teaches you so many lessons that you can apply both on and off the pitch." - Shinji Kagawa, reported by ESPN.
"I think the most important thing about coaching is that you have to have a good sense of humor and you have to be able to communicate with your players." – David Beckam, reported by The Guardian.
"Your Love makes me Strong, Your Hate makes me Unstoppable!" - Cristiano Ronaldo, reported by TCR.
"I think a footballer can have all the qualities in the world, but if he doesn't have the attitude and hunger, then he'll never reach the top." - José Mourinho, former manager of Chelsea, reported by BBC Sport.
"Aggression is what I do. I go to war. You don’t contest football matches in a reasonable state of mind."- Roy Keane, reported by UnitedReds.
"The game of football has never been so quick, never been so technical. The demands on players have never been greater." - Arsene Wenger, former manager of Arsenal, reported by The Guardian.
"You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it." - Lionel Messi, reported by Goal.
“If you are too nice, you will just get eaten alive. The football world is not always a nice place.” – Zlatan Ibrahimovic, reported by All Football.
"I believe that football can be used as a tool to bring about positive change in society." - Yaya Touré, reported by The Guardian.
"The most important thing? To win playing good football. That's the most beautiful thing." - Pep Guardiola, current manager of Manchester City, reported by The Telegraph.
"Football is a team game, and it's important to be playing with players who understand your way of playing." – Xavi, reported by Goal.
"I don't think football is a matter of life and death. It's more important than that." - Hidetoshi Nakata, reported by The Guardian.
"If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes." - John Wooden, reported by BrainyQuote.
"I learned all about life with a ball at my feet." – Ronaldinho, reported by Goal.
"Football is the most universal language in the world. It transcends race, religion and culture." - Sepp Blatter, former President of FIFA, reported by FIFA.
"You can't score a goal if you don't take a shot." - Johan Cruyff, former Dutch player and manager, reported by BBC Sport.
"My family is my motivation. I want to make them proud, and football has given me the opportunity to do that." - Neymar, reported by ESPN.
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