Rivals
“He is a specialist in failure. I'm not.”
— On Arsène Wenger, 2014
“As we say in Portugal, they brought the bus and they left the bus in front of the goal.”
— After a 0-0 against Tottenham – the birth of 'parking the bus', 2004
“This is football from the 19th century.”
— Chelsea, on West Ham's defensive approach, 2014
“I understand why he is emotional. You would be sad if your team got dominated by opponents who have been built with 10 per cent of your budget.”
— FC Porto, on Sir Alex Ferguson after beating Manchester United in the Champions League, 2004
“I don't like intellectual prostitution, I like intellectual honesty. … We haven't talked about Milan, who will finish the season with zero titles.”
— Inter, at a press conference after a row over a penalty against Roma, 2009
“At almost 70 years of age has won a Super Cup and another small cup. He is too old to change his mentality.”
— Inter, replying to Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri, 2008
“As for Lo Monaco, I do not know who he is. With the name Monaco, I have heard of Bayern Monaco (Munich) and the Monaco GP, the Tibetan Monaco (Monk) and the Principality of Monaco. I've never heard of any others.”
— Inter, replying to Catania's chief executive Pietro Lo Monaco, 2008
“If I tell UEFA what I really think and feel, my career would end now. Instead, I will just ask a question to which I hope one day to get a response: Why? Why Ovrebo? Why Busacca? Why De Bleeckere? Why Stark? Why? Because every semi-final the same things happen.”
— Real Madrid, after the Champions League semi-final first-leg defeat by Barcelona, 2011
“I think he is one of these people who is a voyeur. He likes to watch other people.”
— Chelsea, on Arsène Wenger's comments about the club, 2005
“I've sat in this chair twice before in the Champions League, and I knock Man Utd out at home twice, with Porto - Man Utd out, and with Real Madrid - Man Utd out. So this is nothing new for this football club.”
— Manchester United, after a Champions League exit to Sevilla at Old Trafford, 2018
“Two horses and a little horse. A little horse who needs milk and to learn how to jump.”
— Chelsea, after winning at Manchester City, on the title race, 2014
“If we win today but lose at El Sardinero, it counts for nothing, because Madrid isn't playing to win at the Camp Nou.”
— Real Madrid, after winning 2-1 at Barcelona, 2026
“If we have referees like this one in every match of the title contenders, the championship will be a beautiful championship and the winner will deserve to win.”
— Fenerbahçe, praising the referee after a 1-0 derby defeat at Beşiktaş, 2024
“I think we still have a chance to win that league because maybe they punish Man City with points and maybe we win that league and they have to pay me the bonus and give me the medal.”
— Fenerbahçe, joking about the 2017-18 Premier League title before facing Manchester United, 2024
“… in Spain the situation is a bit different because some people hate me. And many of you are in this room.”
— Real Madrid, after going out of the Champions League semi-finals to Borussia Dortmund, 2013
“You know, I think boring is 10 years without a title. That's very boring.”
— Chelsea, after a 0-0 draw at Arsenal, answering the home fans' 'boring' chants, 2015
“What I will promise is that we will not go to Manchester and play defensive football.”
— FC Porto, after beating Manchester United 2-1 in the Champions League first leg, 2004
“I won the league title in Portugal, Italy and England, but this one has been the toughest.”
— Real Madrid, after clinching the 2011-12 league title, 2012
“What I want to say to my players is to follow the dream, not make it an obsession, because for us this is a dream and not an obsession - for Barcelona it's not a dream, it's an obsession.”
— Inter, before the Champions League semi-final second leg at Camp Nou, 2010
“One team played to their potential and one didn't. Loss, yes - humiliation, no. It was a defeat we deserved, we just weren't good enough.”
— Real Madrid, after a 5-0 defeat at Barcelona, 2010
“The signal of close your mouth was not for them but for the press. They speak too much and in my opinion they try to do everything to disturb Chelsea. Wait, don't speak too soon.”
— Chelsea, explaining his gesture during the League Cup final win over Liverpool, 2005
“You may as well put a cow in the middle of the pitch. And then stop the game because there was a cow.”
— Chelsea, after a defeat at Newcastle, on time-wasting, 2014
“I learned we can beat anyone because Chelsea are not just 'anyone', they are one of the best.”
— Inter, after knocking his former club Chelsea out of the Champions League at Stamford Bridge, 2010