123 FOOTBALL PHRASES OF THE BEST IN HISTORY [+ IMAGES] - OTHER PHRASES - 2025

I leave you the best short and motivating football phrases, said by the best players and coaches in history, such as Pelé, Maradona, Di Stéfano, Ronaldo, Messi, Beckenbauer, Zidane and many more.

You may also be interested in these sports phrases or these athletic phrases.

-The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness of winning.-Pele.

-If you go step by step, with confidence, you can go far.-Diego Maradona.

-You have to fight to achieve your dreams. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it.-Lionel Messi.

-Each season is a new challenge for me, and I always propose to improve in terms of games, goals and assists.-Cristiano Ronaldo.

-Talent is not everything. You can have it from the cradle, but it is necessary to learn the trade to be the best.-Cristiano Ronaldo.

-I am more concerned with being a good person than being the best player in the world.-Lionel Messi.

-It is better to have ten disorganized players than ten organized runners.-Roberto Baggio.

-No matter what happens and whoever directs, the shirt number 10 will always be mine.-Maradona.

-Soccer must always be played in an attractive way, you must play offensively, it must be a show.-Johan Cruyff.

-I don't want to be a star; I prefer to be a good example for children.-Zinedine Yazid Zidane.

-The speed of the brain is more important than that of the legs.-Xavi Hernández.

-For some it is important, I don't care. I do not need the golden ball to know that I am the best.-Ibrahimovic.

-A soccer team represents a way of being, a culture.-Michel Platini.

-I do not play to win golden balls, I play to be happy.-Andrés Iniesta.

-A penalty is a cowardly way to score.-Pelé.

-Your love makes me strong, your hatred makes me unstoppable.-Cristiano Ronaldo.

-If you want to be an important footballer, you can also be a goalkeeper.-Gianluigi Buffon.

-The goals suffered lurk, always. You don't remember the ones you saved, but the ones that got you. The archer who does not have that internal torment, has no future.-Lev Yashin.

- Those of us who have innate talent since childhood should only maintain it. I don't need to go to the gym.-Iker Casillas.

-I consider myself a soccer artist.-Ronaldo Luis Nazário de Lima.

-If football is an art, then I am an artist.-George Best.

-No player is as good as all together.-Alfredo Di Stefano.

-It is not the strong that wins, the one that wins is strong.-Franz Beckenbauer.

-If we lose, we will continue to be the best team in the world. If we win, we will be eternal.-Pep Guardiola.

-I'm not just another coach, I'm the European champion. You can call me 'The Special One' ”.- Mourinho.

-Everything is practical.

-God gave me the gift of playing football and I got the rest because he took care of me and prepared me.-Pelé.

-I was the best player in the world, the top scorer in Europe, I did everything except win a World Cup.-Eusebio.

-I want to see if I can turn the story around.-Paolo Maldini.

-A player has few friends, because in football there is no true friendship.-Romario.

-I even learn from children on the beach; Maybe because my football is something childish, I have fun like a child.-Ronaldinho.

-Thanks to football, a small country can be great.-Roger Milla.

-Football is a sport that the English invented, they play eleven against eleven, and Germany always wins.-Gary Lineker.

-In football, day after day, you always have to prove your worth.-Luis Figo.

-It's not just about the game itself. Soccer is a psychological battle, the human aspect has a significant role.-Socrates.

-You do not have to compare a perfect player, like Maradona, with a phenomenon like Pelé. The phenomenon is unique, it does not repeat itself.-Zico.

-You must respect people and work hard to be fit. I used to train really hard. When other players went to the beach after training, I was hitting the ball.-Pelé.

-If I had not done the bad things that I did in my life, Pelé would not arrive even second.-Maradona.

-I was wrong and paid, but the ball is not stained.-Maradona.

-Scoring goals is like making love, everyone knows how to do it, but no one does it like me.-Alfredo Di Stéfano.

-A football match without goals is like a Sunday without sun.-Alfredo Di Stéfano.

-We played like never before and lost as always.-Alfredo Di Stefano.

-I'm not a perfectionist, but I like things to be done well. More important than that, I feel a never-ending need to learn, to improve, to get involved, not just to please the coach and the fans, but to feel satisfied with myself. It is my conviction that there are no limits to learning and that you can never stop, no matter our age.-Cristiano Ronaldo.

-I don't like losing anything and I try to be a help to win. I always say: I go out into the field thinking about winning, not about scoring many goals.-Lionel Messi.

-Money allows you to live better, but it is not what inspires me, I live to play football, not for its economic benefits, I also play for the team and not for myself.-Lionel Messi.

-After the final, I walked alone on the lawn of the Olympic Stadium. Why? I can't explain it. At that moment I remembered a dream.-Franz Beckenbauer.

-Cruyff was a better player, but I was world champion.-Franz Beckenbauer.

-In football you have to show your category every day, in every game. I don't know why, but the truth is that excitement and motivation increase during a World Cup.-Ronaldo Luis Nazário from Lima.

-When you score goals you are great, when not… you are fat.-Ronaldo Luis Nazário de Lima.

-There are few players who are lucky enough to score goals in the final of a World Cup; It was my turn.-Zinedine Yazid Zidane.

-You can have all the virtues of the world on your skin, but if you have neither luck nor people to help you along the way, those gifts are of no use to you.-Zinedine Yazid Zidane.

-All the trainers talk about movement, about running a lot. I say it's not neccesary running so much. Soccer is a game played with the brain. You must be in the right place, at the right time, neither too early nor too late.-Johan Cruyff.

-No one doubts that Zidane is a tremendous player, but what Zidane does with a ball, Maradona does with an orange.-Platini.

-Fortunately, I found playing soccer to be quite easy. They gave me great advice. And so, at the age of fifteen, I signed for Manchester United.-Bobby Charlton.

-I was not a forward: I played on the wing, in the center of the field, but I did it in good teams, being in shape and being able to run well. I was able to last longer than other players. They did not beat me much.-Bobby Charlton.

-It is an honor to know that the Barcelona shirts, with my name stamped on the back, are sold at your home. It is incredible what a passion for football can unite people from all over the world.-Xavi Hernández.

-Years ago some said that he was dead for football. The answer is here… I will be the second to reach 1000 goals.-Romario.

-After my injury, I would have preferred to play 5 more years than to have the record for the most goals scored in a World Cup.-Just Fontaine.

-God bless whoever invented football.-Paolo Rossi.

-I can be ugly, but I have charm.-Ronaldinho.

-In comparison with this award, other personal and professional successes seem insignificant.-Roberto Baggio.

-My best trophy is having known Jesus and following his Gospel.-Rivaldo.

-Cameroon is a country of soccer - children are born playing soccer.-Roger Milla.

-Growing up with people of other races is very important.-Lilian Thuram.

-Not all blacks run nor all whites are rich.-Lilian Thuram.

-The only thing that matters here are victories and money.-Oliver Kahn.

-Pressures are always important in football… there are no enemies and I hope there is healthy competition.-Gianluigi Buffon.

-God was on our side, but the referee was French.-Hristo Stoichkov.

-As a professional soccer player, I have known very well since the day I started playing, that every day I have to fight for my place.-Luis Figo.

-Feeling happy as a person is superior to any triumph, is how I see it.-Andrés Iniesta.

-I play to be happy and people who value what they have to value. If they value my work, delighted, if not, nothing happens.-Andrés Iniesta.

-I had 14 cautions this season. 8 of them were my fault, but 7 can be discussed.-Paul Gascoigne.

-I am not going to make my life miserable for losing a game or a championship, a real drama is having a sick child… or not making ends meet.-Carlos Bianchi.

-You have to change players or change the scheme.-Carlos Bianchi.

-In our team there is not a single exercise that is not done with the most important tool, which is the ball.-Pep Guardiola.

-The most educational tool that I have had has been through sports. There I have learned to accept defeat, that another is better, to get up after not having done things well, to make an effort to do better.-Pep Guardiola.

-There is nothing more dangerous than not taking risks.-Pep Guardiola.

-It is always difficult to lose for those who are not used to it.-Mourinho.

-The victories have many parents and the defeats only one and that is me.-Mourinho.

-The concentration has always been an important message in my speech. When players leave the locker room, it is always the last thing I talk about. Football is more and more chess and in chess, if you lose concentration for a second, you are dead.-Alex Ferguson.

-Success without honor is the greatest of failures.-Vicente del Bosque.

-The satisfaction in the country exceeds the merely sports. It is a success of all, it is just the award received today. I appreciate the support of the Spanish.-Vicente del Bosque.

-If I win them the way I want to win, I'm the happiest guy, but the titles are not the main objective; I value other things before, although everything is focused on winning, of course, because in football there is nothing worse than losing.-Manuel Pellegrini.

35-Winning by winning does not enter my head, at any price.-Manuel Pellegrini.

-We cannot recreate what we have achieved because football tends to punish those who think they are very good.-Vicente del Bosque.

-Something deep in my character allows me to take the blows and keep trying to win.-Lionel Messi.

-A man with new ideas is a crazy man, until his ideas triumph.-Marcelo Bielsa.

-No need to justify or demonize. You have to be aware of implementing a change. You have to have self-criticism to improve.-Marcelo Bielsa.

-Football is a magical game.-David Beckham.

-My heroes were always soccer players.-Ronaldinho.

-Football is a simple sport in which some like to talk. I love winning.-Fabio Capello.

-We don't buy superstars. We make them.-Arsène Wenger.

-Leo Messi is like a Playstation player. He is clearly the best in the world.-Arsène Wenger.

-You have to win with an offensive and spectacular football. I do not think it is difficult to win with offensive football.-Carlo Ancelotti.

-In the work of the coach there is pressure. The problem is managing the group. I want to work with pressure.-Carlo Ancelotti.

-We are world champions, we are not interested in touch football.-Marcello Lippi.

-The best player is the one who puts his talent at the service of others. There are useful players, not indispensable.-Marcello Lippi.

-In football I think the same as Ivan Lendl regarding tennis: if you want to have a friend, buy a dog.-Marco van Basten.

-There are no young and old players. There are good and bad.-Santiago Bernabéu.

-When I received the ball, I was a little tired and I thought: I can stop it and try to do something between all those defenders or, easier, take a risk and shoot. Everything was good. It's one of those things that sometimes just happens.-Marco van Basten.

-I touched Messi because I wanted to make sure that he is a human being like us.-Gianluigi Buffon.

-You, the press always like this, always negative, never positive.-Louis Van Gaal.

-When the footballers believe that they are beyond the control of the coach there is only one word to say: goodbye.-Alex Ferguson.

-It does not matter so much how much you run, as where and why you run.-Zdenek Zeman.

-I spent a lot of money on cars, alcohol and women. The rest I have wasted.-George Best.

-A team is like a good watch: if a piece is lost it is still beautiful, but it no longer works the same.-Ruud Gullit.

-Football is not a perfect game. I do not understand why you want the referee to be.-Pierluigi Collina.

-I have always said that when I work I am always one hundred percent with my team. I have also said that I have never been concerned about whether or not I am fired. I have enough confidence in myself.-Louis Van Gaal.

-I will run like a black to live like a white tomorrow.-Samuel Etoo.

-Training is a love story with a club; You have to hope it lasts forever and accept that it could end tomorrow.-Arsene Wenger.

-Every team that treats the ball well, treats the spectator well.-Jorge Valdano.

-Football is not a matter of life and death, it is much more than that.-Billy Shankly.

-I am not a galactic, I am from Móstoles.-Iker Casillas.

-Football is the most important of the least important things.-Arrigo Sacchi.

-The ball is the only one that does not sweat in a game, let it run.-Ángel Cappa.

-If I had been born ugly, you would not have heard of Pelé.-George Best.

-All that I know with greater certainty about the morals and obligations of men, I owe it to football.-Albert Camus.

-Football is the only religion that does not have atheists.-Eduardo Galeano.

-Football is evolution.-Frank de Boer.

-To have the crack stamp you have to have the world champion stamp on your back.-Dunga.

-The greatest merit of football is being a team sport that allows expression of individual talent.-Luca de Montezemolo.

-The footballer feels important if you encourage him to play. He has to understand that the error is part of the game and that nothing happens if he makes a mistake.-Ángel Cappa.

-You have to know how to compete, which is not the same as playing. Spain always knew how to play, not compete.-Luis Aragonés.

-Curiosity is the ball.-Mágico González.

-Football is born in the head, not in the body. Michelangelo said that he painted with his mind, not with his hands. That is why I require intelligent players.-Arrigo Sacchi.

- Have you already agreed with the rivals to let us do all that?.- Garrincha.

-Puskas handled the ball with his left leg better than I did with his hand.-Di Stéfano.

-There are no moral triumphs but expressions of a team.-Sampaoli.

-Football basically consists of two things. First: when you have the ball, you must be able to pass it correctly. Second: when the ball is passed to you, you must have the ability to control it. If you don't control it, you can't pass it either.-Johan Cruyff.

-Win we all want, but only the mediocre do not aspire to beauty. It's like trying to choose between a good idiot or a bad intelligent.-Jorge Valdano.

-Football is unpredictable because all matches start zero to zero.-Vujadin Boskov.

-The problem with the referees is that they know the rules, but they do not know the game.-William Shankly.

-Watching football is like watching sex. It's fine, but it's better to practice it.-Alex James.

-Football is the only love that never disappoints.

-The most important thing in football is the love for the jersey.