I think after a big European game you're looking at four or five days. For two days afterwards I don't really do anything. I do a recovery the next day, which is bike work, a light stretch, some yoga and an ice bath after that. Then the second day I would just do the bike again for 20 minutes and then do some strides, which is box to box, just eight of them, just to get the legs going and the blood going again.

Nelson Mandela is my hero outside of football. I was fortunate enough to meet him a couple of times. He was really clued up on his football and he knew me, so that was just unbelievable. It really stuck with me.

I like to let my football do the talking, I'm respectful of other good teams such as Arsenal.

Looking at me from the outside, it is not very obvious, I know half my family is black and I feel close to their culture and their color.

Where does it stop? You get offered money for your wedding, then for your kids, new houses, holidays... We earn enough from football and sponsorships, why do you need any more?

I do not wish to hide my origins, nor do I seek to make it a subject of conversation. I am what I am.

Celebrity culture, it's everywhere, isn't it? It's reality TV, Big Brother. I didn't become a footballer to be famous, I became a footballer to be successful. I didn't want to be famous. Now people want to be famous. Why? Why would you want people following you about all day?