Philanthropists

"I haven't always been understood. As a footballer, as coach and also for what I did after all that. But OK, Rembrandt and Van Gogh weren't understood either. That's what you learn: people go on bothering you until you're a genius."

"Barça wanted to get rid of him [Guardiola]. They considered him scrawny, bad defensively and ineffective in the air. What nobody saw was that he had the basic qualities to go far: he had game intelligence, speed in his execution, technique. If I hadn't been at Barcelona, for sure he would have been sold to a Segunda Division club."

"Winning is an important thing, but to have your own style, to have people copy you, to admire you, that is the greatest gift."

"4-5-1? Never. It was always 4-3-3 for me as a player and as manager, just like [Frank] Rijkaard at Barcelona. With 4-3-3, it's much easier to make combinations going forward. With only one forward, who is he going to pass to? Who is he going to make combinations with? Football is about having the best offensive play possible. I always like to play offensive football and nobody will convince me otherwise."

"The main problem in Britain is that there are too many competitions and too many games. There is no time to prepare properly for Europe or to introduce new ideas because there is far too much emphasis on domestic football."

"We [Barça] are a unique club in the world, no one has kept their jersey intact throughout their history, yet have remained as competitive as they come. (...) We have sold this uniqueness for about six percent of our budget. I understand that we are currently losing more than we are earning. However, by selling the shirt it shows me that we are not being creative, and that we have become vulgar."

"Who am I supporting? I am Dutch but I support the football that Spain is playing. Spain's style is the style of Barcelona. Spain, a replica of Barça, is the best publicity for football."

"It hurts me that Holland chose an ugly path to aim for the title."

"Sadly, they played very dirty. This ugly, vulgar, hard, hermetic, hardly eye-catching, hardly football style... If with this they got satisfaction, fine, but they lost."

"You should know that I had problems at the end of my career as a player here and I don't know if you know that someone [put] a rifle at my head and tied me up and tied up my wife in front of the children at our flat in Barcelona. The children were going to school accompanied by the police. The police slept in our house for three or four months. I was going to matches with a bodyguard. All these things change your point of view towards many things. There are moments in life in which there are other values. We wanted to stop this and be a little more sensible. It was the moment to leave football and I couldn't play in the World Cup after this."

"There is no medal better than being acclaimed for your style. As a coach, my teams might have won more games if we’d played in a less adventurous way. Maybe I’d have earned a little more and the bonuses would have been bigger, but if people say that Barcelona were playing the nicest football in the world with me as coach, what more can I ask for? If you’re appearing in the World Cup final it may be the biggest occasion of your life, so why be sad and fearful? Be happy, express yourself and play. Make it special for you and for everyone watching. For the good of football, we need a team of invention, attacking ideas and style to emerge. Even if it doesn't win, it will inspire footballers of all ages everywhere. That is the greatest reward."

"Every trainer talks about movement, about running a lot. I say don't run so much. Football is a game you play with your brain. You have to be in the right place at the right moment, not too early, not too late."

"To have simple structures and organizations with minimal hierarchical levels, with human development and in house training of executive functions. To have flexibility and speed in making decisions. Operating with the advantages of the small business, which are what comprise big businesses."

"In 2001, we went to raise some $3 million in venture capital in the U.S. and got rejected. So we’ve come back and raised a little bit more: $25 billion. This is not money; this is trust from the world, trust from the people."

"If you don’t give up, You still have a Chance to Win. Giving up is a Great Failure."

"I think that you, american people, worry too much about the China economy, [...] Every time you start to worry about the China economy, China goes better."

"You should learn from your competitor, but never copy. Copy and you die."

"When you have one billion dollars, that's not your money. That's the trust the society gives [to] you."

"The problem is the fake products today are of better quality and better price than the real names ... They are exactly the same factories, exactly the same raw materials but they do not use the names."

"Young people will have the seeds you bury in their minds and when they grow up they will change the world."

"中国未来将是制定下一个世纪游戏规则的地方...因为全世界人都会在那儿，所以去中国不是去发财，今天不是去发财，不是寻找机会，而是参与未来游戏规则的制定。"

"为什么外国互联网公司到中国大都失败了？谷歌也不行、雅虎也不行、eBay这些都被中国本土公司给搞死掉了？是不是中国不能做？任何一个失败的人是最容易找藉口的，人类总是为失败找藉口，不为成功找方向。"

"This country has given me so much that I am only too happy to be allowed to help it to develop and to be able to give back to it a fraction of what it has given to me."

"I don't back any party, I'm better off setting an example."

"At the age of eight, my dream was to become a world champion; and now I've achieved that title. I've achieved it not only for myself, but achieved it for the British people and also the Pakistani community - and all the Muslims in the country. It's a great feeling, a dream come true for me and Insha'Allah in the future, I want to achieve more things like this."

"I always pray before fighting. I pray in the corner, in the hotel room – maybe two hours before I go to the arena. It takes me far – I see a big difference when you pray and go into a fight; you have more strength and also you know God’s helping you."

"I’m born in Britain – but my family were born in Pakistan. When I fight, in the crowd you see Pakistani people and you see British people – they’re all mixed together and they support Amir Khan. On my shorts, when I fight, I have the Pakistani flag on one side and on the other side I have the Britain flag – to promote the two countries together."

"When I was young, I was very energetic and strong – just too hyperactive. So when I went to the boxing club, everything seemed normal to me. I enjoyed it, I liked punching things, hitting the boxing bag, fighting people in the boxing ring and in school I was naughty as well; but when I started boxing, I totally changed everything – you know, my whole life changed, I was good, I didn’t misbehave, I was always behaving in school. The teacher was happy with my behaviour."

"I was a mummy's boy; I still am. My mum still gets rid of the spiders off my walls. She comes over, picks them up and chucks them outside. There may be one in my bedroom, and I'll never sleep."

"“When you learn what God has made you for and how He treasures your company, you are bound to be contented, self-sufficient and happy.”"

"“No matter how fast a lie runs, the truth will someday overtake it.”"

"“Nobody is too good or too bad to qualify for God’s grace.”"

""Today, many people blame their situation on family background. Some would say, ‘I am poor because everyone in my family is poor.’ If you make excuses for being poor, your poverty cannot be excused. Remember, you are responsible for what you give your attention to; so it is unnecessary to blame your situation on anyone. Today, it is common for people to blame their failure on their family background, whereas they attribute their success to their personal effort.”"

"The man that is poor is not the one who has no money but one without a dream. Children of destiny can never be poor, though they may experience temporary lacks."

""Love has a language that transcends all languages, all barriers and all distance.”"

"“If we fail to see that there are powers that cause people to be bowed down in bondage, we are going to fight the wrong battle.""

"“I am a material to be used that will not cost you any money. I am afraid to collect money from you because if I collect it, it will affect the gift and grace of God in my life.”"

""When it is time to dress, make-up, take your bath and eat, it is time to hurry. Those things have little to do with your future. Don’t waste your time on what cannot guarantee your future; your mirror keeps deceiving you.”"

"It is what you believe that translates in the life you live."

"“When God calls a man or woman, what they will eat, what they will use and everything they need for their journey will be provided abundantly by God.”"

"“You have been allowing challenges to destroy you instead of you to destroy challenges. When challenges come – my God has the final say, not my ability or knowledge.”"

"“Blessing without good health is a crisis because you cannot enjoy it.""

"“If you believe in what you are doing, why should disappointment separate you from it? If you believe in your business, why should failure cause you to abandon it? If you believe in your marriage, why should crisis separate you and lead to divorce?”"

"When you are connected to your destiny, nothing and nothing can stop you."

"Many times, God speaks blessing and breakthrough through pain and disappointment."

"“Adopting a lifestyle that is on purpose provides an opportunity to enrich others by leaving your imprint in a positive way.”"

"“A resolve to do whatever proper thing it takes separates the weak from the strong. The strong are determined to do whatever possible and proper thing to get to their goal.”"

"“Every day you must stay true to your purpose, despite snow or rain. When your purpose is clear, your life will have meaning.”"

"“Those who have the greatest and most positive impact on society are not concerned with name and fame.”"

"“We should not allow unhealthy ego, pride or greed to overrule our good intention.”"