I went to a football school which meant that I went to a university that served up education and was simultaneously operating a sports franchise.

Too many athletes are living in a tiny window. They have no vision for themselves - what they can be outside of football and what they can mean to a community. They just don't know any better. My hopes and dreams are unlimited.

Football (soccer) is a matter of life and death except more important.

Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you it's much more serious than that.

If you have only one passion in life - football - and you pursue it to the exclusion of everything else it becomes very dangerous. When you stop doing this activity it is as though you are dying. The death of that activity is a death in itself.

I always told my dad I'd play professional football.

I had my footballing heroes such as Bryan Robson and Diego Maradona but my dad was a rugby league star and he was my real hero. But the relationship with my mum was rocky and we saw things that would affect any youngster.

I remember my dad who coached football would buy some of his players football shoes when they couldn't afford it.

So my dad raised me and he's a huge football fan.

I grew up watching Monday Night Football with Howard Cosell and the other guys with my dad.