Quotes About Career

I've had ups and downs in my career, and if you look at it as a bookmaker, the odds of me becoming a world champion were never in my favour, but I never stopped believing in myself and never stopped trying.

Financially, I've done very well doing what I do. I've got plenty of money in the bank. I've got gigs with FOX doing analyst work, media work. The UFC has been very kind to me. Ultimately, however, I want to be world champion. I have to achieve that to validate my entire career.

When I was 14, I told my careers adviser that I was going to be a world champion boxer. Of course she laughed.

When I was 30 I became world champion and that's when I started to make a living.

It's definitely hard to live up to expectation. Especially early in my career, everyone was expecting so much from me, everyone was comparing me to my father. They didn't understand that they're comparing me to a world champion, which is very unfair as a novice.

After having been at WWE and being somebody who was being groomed to be a world champion, I ran afoul of some politics and spent three months on a losing streak. I had a confrontation with one of the executives.

It's not like I'm against alcohol. It's just a decision I made, and if you've never had it, you don't miss it. I've been drenched in champagne a few times over my career. I might have a drink if England win the World Cup. That's one moment where I might.

I think the World Cup is going to be bigger than what a lot of people are anticipating. At this stage in my career, when there is an opportunity, albeit a small one, of being on the team, what a great way to possibly end my career.

The main lesson I learned from 2015 is that a World Cup doesn't define a player's career.

A World Cup in Brazil has to be a career highlight for any player. Everyone wants to be there.

Players say going to a World Cup, it's one of the best parts of their career, and I can't wait.

There have been times when I've reflected on my international career and just thought: 'Well that was a massive waste of time.' Sorry for sounding sour, but my best mate, David Beckham, got butchered after the World Cup in 1998, then my brother, Phil, after Euro 2000.

The World Cup could be a jumping point for many players to change everything.

My decision was to go abroad, especially after winning the World Cup, and to go to Madrid was perfect. I was 100 per cent convinced of it.

It would make me a lot happier if I could meet up again next year with as many friends as possible from all over the world who I've met during my career. That's where the great opportunity lies, for me personally, in our role as World Cup host.

If I'd still been in one piece from the World Cup and gone through my career, what type of player would I have been? No doubt about it, if I hadn't had as many injuries I would have been the all-time leading scorer for England.

I had a lot of pressure in my career: when you play at World Cup or Champions League final, there is pressure on your shoulders.

To be captain and win a lot at Juventus, to play for 20 years, to play in the World Cup, European Cup, I think I had a good career, no?

Of course I would have liked to have played at the World Cup, but I achieved so much in my career as a footballer that I can't have any complaints.

Football is my priority. It's a short career, and you have to make the most of it, which is why making the World Cup squad is such a big deal and something I will never take for granted.

Throughout my career, we beat India in many matches, but for some reason, we never managed to get the better of them in World Cup matches, and it remains a disappointment for me.

Missing the chance to go to the 2007 World Cup was the biggest disappointment of my career.

I'm proud of my long career but playing in the World Cup is something special for any player. There is no limit to my ambition and I have always been determined to achieve that objective.

I've played for England Under-21s, in the Under-20 World Cup and I've been part of the play-offs in the Championship. But in terms of helping my career and getting me ready, going to Cheltenham Town was a massive experience.