Rafael van der Vaart Quotes

"When I was younger, I always knew I was a pretty good player, but it was impossible to foresee how far I'd go. I had a left foot and vision like no one else, but I wasn't the quickest and my right foot wasn't so great, so there were things I needed to work on."

"It's really important that when you come to a club, you know the history. My dream was always Real Madrid or Barcelona, but for the fans of Tottenham, the club is the biggest in the world. So that's how I treated it."

"I'm not a player any more, I'm a fan, and I want to see somebody who wants to win and wants to fight."

"I like to play football, and of course I like to play for Tottenham, but I try to enjoy every game because that's the most important thing, to have fun on the pitch, and then you can play good."

"Twenty-seven is a great age to play. There is so much ahead of you."

"I think it's a good match, Dutch players playing in England."

"I love to play big games, it makes you a bigger player."

"When you put something on Instagram, the English people are always so positive. As a player, you need that."

"When your relationship is good, you can tell somebody the truth."

"Every time I walked into White Hart Lane, I got goosebumps. I felt so privileged to play there, to make the people happy."

"Football is important but it's not the most important thing."

"At home, I make the decisions."

"When I lose the fun in football, it's better to quit."

"The way I played, Tottenham was the best phase of my career. It's always a warm feeling when I think back."

"But Tottenham is pure football and pure people... nice, warm people. That's why I like Tottenham. And everybody who comes to the stadium can smell the history."

"Andre Villas-Boas wasn't the ideal coach for me. He bought Gylfi Sigurdsson and then told me he would be his new No.10."

"Leaving Tottenham was not by best choice but, apart from that, there haven't been too many regrets in my career."

"I didn't want to be the next version of any player - I wanted to establish my own name."

"I've always said the one change that would've been nice is if I'd been a bit faster - like fast enough to be able to run past people instead of just being overtaken all the time!"

"When I was young, the best moment came when I was 10 and I got invited to the academy. I remember getting all this Ajax training gear and suddenly I was able to call myself an Ajax player."

"I like to relax and watch TV and play with my little boy. I like to play some tennis as well."

"I never had anything against Arsenal, but when I joined Spurs I tried to learn about the club's traditions and I soon found out about the magnitude of the match."

"Andre Villas-Boas wasn't the ideal coach for me."

"I think the Premier League is the best league in the world."