Quotes from Juan Mata

There are so many clubs with great squads, good managers, good financial situations that allows them to sign good players.

I live in a bubble. Real life is the one my friends live. They've had to look for work, sign on to the dole, and emigrate. That's normal life now. My life as a footballer is not normal.

Every player thinks he's Maradona when he joins a big club. That happens to all of us, but then you start to notice it in the younger players. You see kids who think they're rock stars, wearing extravagant clothes and driving fancy cars... and sometimes you have to take them aside and have a word.

For me, it would be the perfect summer to play in the Euros and then the Olympics. My desire is to play in both.

I consider myself as this kind of attacking midfielder, trying to find the gaps between the opposition midfielders and defenders and produce what the team needs between the lines.

Van Gaal is how you see him in the press conferences; he's like that with us, too. He's honest and straightforward. He believes in his style of training and way of preparing for games.

I am not so old, but when I started out, we had none of this. We did not have the need to show the things we do and the good life we lead. That is dangerous. Social networks can be very positive because it's a great vehicle to communicate, but perhaps things need to be done in a different way.

As a child, we would all go to a tiny village near Burgos, and we'd have typical Spanish parties in the summer. There would be a band and grandparents dancing all night dressed up as American Indians and things like that.

One of the first lessons I learned in football is that it takes a team to win a game.

When you are in a club like Manchester United, you have a lot of pressure around you.

I'm at the fantastic club that is Manchester United, one of the biggest in the world.

If I was 19, 20, 18, and I had the chance to play with first-team players of Manchester United, I will definitely try to take my chance.