Quotes from Daniel Sturridge

My dad's view about coaching was that you have to express yourself. When I was young at academies, I wasn't allowed to do that.

People think I got loads of money at City and then left for Chelsea to chase more money. I didn't get that money. I moved to Chelsea because they made promises to me. They told me I would get opportunities, I would play and that they believed in me as a young player.

Things have evolved, and footballers pay a lot more attention to how they dress and how they groom themselves because of social media. So they'll be on Instagram or Twitter, and I think it's one of those things - you're in the public eye more, probably, than playing football on television, and your lifestyle at home is broadcast.

For me, that was a defining moment in my career, being at Chelsea, going through what has made me become a man in terms of my career. Even playing on the right wing helped my right foot, making me use it more, making me improve.

When Liverpool came in, it was one of those situations that I just wanted to get up the M6 as quick as possible, sign on the dotted line, and get to work.

I treat everyone with the same respect they treat me with. Just because I earn more money doesn't make me more special than them or give me the right to talk to them in a certain manner.

Going away to West Brom, I learned, too. You learn things about football. You learn about yourself. You get to assess the situation from the outside, looking in.

Football's no different from any other workplace. If you're not doing the job you think you're capable of, it's frustrating. And I'm aiming for the stars. I'm not content with being in the shadows.

There is always something new. But to be honest, if I was to score a goal in a World Cup, I don't know what I would do.

At the World Cup, I carried my mum's Caribbean sauce around with me. She makes her own, and I brought it to Brazil - I needed to have it there. We're very down-to-earth; it's the nature of my family. We came from nothing.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions, and I feel like everyone judges people: regardless of whether they know someone or not, they have an opinion based on the persona of the person. I guess you can only have a real opinion of who they are as a person once you meet someone.

I have total faith in my abilities, total faith in what I can do on the pitch, and I just have to focus on that, on my game, and help the team be successful, and I have no worries.

I remember when I was at Chelsea, and Ancellotti used to say, 'Watch a DVD of Inzaghi' - movement in terms of runs in behind and what makes strikers score goals.

I'm drawn to black clothes. I say I'm inspired by the wrestler The Undertaker because there's something about wearing black that makes me feel confident and classy. It isn't to try and make me look slim!

My dad was a professional footballer before I was alive. When I was growing up, he was the one who coached and mentored me and helped me to become what I am today. Without his coaching and without his insight and the days and the hours that he put in with me, I wouldn't be the player that I am today.

I'm an open book. I speak to people all the time and generally have a smile on my face. I'm true to who I am, so you can never always smile and be happy.

Everybody judges a book by its cover. I can look at 50 books and say every one of those books is bad. Then you read one, and you can say, 'This book is amazing.' That's the same with meeting people.

As a youngster, that's how it was: you tried to express yourself out on the pitch as much as you can. Maybe I stopped trying things when I got into the first team, but now I'm more comfortable and doing things off the cuff again.

A lot of players are straight-faced and serious; some are the opposite. It's like that until about 10 minutes before kick-off and I am in the zone. Then there is no more joking about.

My mum, she loves a bargain hunt. You can't buy her anything expensive. I remember I bought her a diamond bracelet for her birthday. I was being a nice son! She told me to take it back.

I watch the goals to get me in the mood and to give myself a vision of how I want the game to go.

There was a shop in Birmingham called Autographs, where I'm from in Birmingham. My uncles and dad used to shop there. They played professionally, too. When I started, I went to Autograph, and they had brands like Rick Owens. There are loads of brands, like my go-to brands that I will go to if I want to buy jeans, like DSquared or Balmain.

I think the stereotype about footballers being badly dressed is unfair.

If I score a goal in training, it feels great. But in a stadium, especially Anfield, or even when you score away and the fans are silent, it's just amazing. You are just in the moment. There are times when I've scored, and I can't even remember what happened. It's so good.