Quotes from Juan Mata

To be honest, I was never expecting to be in a World Cup final, a Euro final, a Champions League final, a Europa League final. I've done much more than I dreamt, and that's incredible.

If I leave Chelsea, I would be unprofessional ,just because I am not playing does not mean that I don't love Chelsea. I am not leaving.

I like the Common Goal initiative, the vision of football as a tool for social change and the power football has to improve the world.

I can tell you as a Manchester United player how big this club is and how you feel the repercussions of everything you do. It happens to everyone. It happened to me when I came.

Everything I do is about improvement.

When I heard of United's interest, I thought, 'Wow.' This is a team that has won a lot of leagues in the history of the Premier League and English league.

I've been lucky to be born in Spain to a good family. But some team-mates reached the same position from a tough background. Football is equal, and it doesn't matter where you come from.

Football sometimes has a bad reputation. Some of that is deserved... and some of it isn't.

When I signed for Valencia, it wasn't the best moment of my football career because in the beginning, I was not playing a lot. But I remained calm, and I knew that if I trained well and played as I know, I'm sure I can get a place in the first XI.

London is a very big city, Manchester is calmer. I live near the training ground, so I do things around there in the countryside, but I really like Manchester's Northern Quarter, where they have nice coffee shops and live music places.

Football's incomparable to anything else - perhaps only music has that same power to transform society.

Chelsea is a top club, and I have many friends there, but you cannot turn down the chance to join Manchester United.

Maybe the yoga I do helps me to play as much as I do. It certainly gets you in the right frame of mind, stretches and relaxes you.

I had the luck of being in Madrid. They sign some of the best players in the world, and that really leaves fewer opportunities for young players.

For a kid that just played for Oviedo, to then going to play for a team like Real Madrid, it felt fantastic. But being taken out of my family home and moving away alone, into the residence Madrid have for young players, it was a bit difficult. But as time passed, I got used to it.

I admire Arsenal and the philosophy that the young players have. Liverpool, with their Spanish players, they also have an incredible squad. And Manchester United and Chelsea are teams that are very big, like Real Madrid and Barcelona, with money and incredible players.

Real Madrid wanted me to join their academy. It was a big decision to move when I was 15. It's a key age for a youngster, and you're close to your friends and family. But I moved to Madrid, and my family stayed at home. It made me mature earlier than normal. That was a very big decision, and it changed me in a positive way.

Winning the World Cup is something that will always be inside your mind and inside your body.

You have to feel free enough to do what your body is telling you to do. Sometimes, though, the pressure of winning and the fear of defeat limit your performance.

I cannot control what people think. But I can control myself and my aim, and my head is focused on trying to win trophies.

Football generates a lot of money, but there has to be a social responsibility that goes with that. It can positively affect people's lives.

In Spain, they show many Premier League games on TV, and it is an inspirational league. Maybe I would like to play in the Premier League.

Obviously, Spain is my home, and I have everything here - family, friends - but I'm very happy in England, with the way of life we have and with English football.

Sometimes you look at footballers and think they're selfish or they don't bring a good image to society. But sometimes people underestimate footballers and their capacity to have a strong opinion and sympathy for others.