For me, Lionel Messi is quite clearly the best player ever. It’s a pleasure to put myself against him and when I finish my career it’s something I can look back on and know I’ve tested myself against the very best.

You don't have to be captain to have an opinion.

I had a little teddy bear called Gordon the gopher. I took him to bed with me, he'd come to school with me cos he was my favourite.

Some of the money from the senior players goes to helping out the younger kids. It is from the players' pool, the fines for being late and so on. Some will go to something like the tsunami appeal and some to helping out young players.

Paolo Maldini is someone I loved at AC Milan and looked up to as a player. I think he had so much about him. He had so much quality and he was a player I looked to growing up. Him and Tony Adams - another footballer who's won it all.

I love playing for my country. I see it as the biggest privilege of my career, so there's no way I'm going to volunteer to give that up. I want to go on for as long as I can. I've got 68 caps and I'd love to think I could get 100. I know there are some players who reach their 30s and announce their international retirement. I totally understand and respect their decisions. We are away a lot and for long spells. But although it's hard, we're doing one of the most privileged jobs in the world.

Kids want to be professional footballers and I think they need to know what it takes to get there - you know, the dedication. People see footballers playing on a Saturday afternoon in front of the TV cameras, but from a Monday to Friday people don't really see what goes on.