Unicef Goodwill Ambassadors

"I like my privacy, and when I come out, I do so for a reason, and it has to be something that is worth it. That is when you can see me. That is why you don’t see me everywhere, especially social events. It is not everywhere you see Papilo, so you can say it is deliberate."

"My country people, I say it and will say it again, I am not a politician, I am a footballer. Whoever is there, is just talking, spreading fake news about me saying that I asked you to go and vote for who and who and who. No. I don’t do such. My name is Kanu ‘Papilo’ Nwankwo and you know, all my life is about football."

"It’s very important to be happy with what you’re doing, and to me I’m very happy with what I’m doing because saving a life means a lot more than winning trophies. Trophies are good, but saving somebody who could die, giving them hope of a life, that means a lot to me."

"It is not history’s duty to solve the problems of the future, but simply to remind us of the solutions that were chosen during similar situations. But history that teaches only one solution is a dangerous thing."

"Greece and Europe have been intrinsically linked notions since the time of Herodotus. We need to remember that. And we need to learn to live in a European and globalized society without saying “us” and “them.”"

"I was always in favor of the term “New Macedonia,” because North Macedonia naturally suggests a South Macedonia and in this case, North Macedonia is a country and the South Macedonia that is implied is a region in another country."

"Speaking as a historian, there has never been an empire that was not multinational."

"Europe has always been mixed-race, it has never had such a thing as biological purity. The crucial question today is how the migrants and refugees will be assimilated. Unfortunately, we continue making the same huge mistake – in Europe and in Greece. We treat foreign nationals like a separate community that cannot be assimilated. By doing so, we create a foreign territory within our own. The Arabs say that the land of Islam is wherever there is a single Muslim. The people coming to Greece, therefore, need to learn our language and customs, to be assimilated into Greek institutions in a manner that is not just restricted to the islands of the eastern Aegean and the hot spots, but which includes the entire country. We’re afraid of losing our culture by sharing it. But without contact with others, culture ceases being a culture."

"Hope is something to comfort the weak."

"I’m not scared of the far-right: It’s like a growing boil that needs to be lanced and I have a feeling it’s already happening."

"We have come to the point of believing complacency to be a virtue. Yet complacency is the biggest form of cowardice. The worst thing we can do to our children is to teach them to remain quiet. In ancient Greece, during periods of crisis and division, citizens who would not take a position were fined. We tell our young people to be irresponsible, to stay off the pitch, instead of teaching them that we all need to be on the pitch and to fight. When you deny yourself the right of participation and choice, you’re denying your freedom."

"A leftist is a person who does leftist things, not one who claims to be one. The left is a way of life, not a manner of speech. Someone who likes to talk but not listen, who is not willing to stand up for those who are wronged, including their rivals, is not a leftist in my book. Defending your rival’s rights is the greatest virtue. This is why there is no such thing as a virtuous politician as far as I’m concerned. And if I continue to claim that I am a leftist, it is because I still hope for a more just distribution of wealth and an education system that teaches this virtue."

"When the incompetent are allowed to govern, it is the fault of the able."

"Today, unfortunately, education does not start in the home and school is in no position to fill that void."

"The French, you know, have a good quality: They don’t tolerate arrogance. I’m the same way. I voted for him, but when I heard him tell an unemployed man asking for a job to “go across the street” and get one, and especially after the cover-up of the Benalla scandal – when Macron’s security officer beat up a protester – he was finished as far as I was concerned."

"Yes, I haven’t changed my mind. For decades, anything that was decided in Europe came with a footnote, an asterisk, added by the British. But we can’t move forward with asterisks; they have to go."

"What you eat is what you are. Being voted the sexy vegetarian is quite fashionable. I'm obsessed about what I eat and about my body. People thought I starved myself to get into the size zero figure last year. But that's not true. I think I'm quite fit and healthy. It's just that I changed my body type with a lot of exercise and proper diet through professional help obviously. I worked towards a size zero for a role and I'm game to even put on ten kilos for a role. You see, we are actors and we need to suit the demands of a character. ... You don't need meat to build muscle. Vegetables have a lot of variety for building muscle. It's cool to be a vegan."

"It was not easy that change has amalgamated where women are also accepted in society. It's all in the streets that women can do it."

"It is our turn to shine!"

"Sometimes you have to be there waiting for the ball and if you get it once in the 90 minutes you have to be ready. But I say: ‘I want to be part of the team, of the game, I want to move and pass and not just wait for the ball.’ That’s why I am always looking for space to get the ball and find my teammates. I can work on everything still. But one thing? Maybe to shoot from distance."

"Money is important, but I didn't get carried away because ... I remember what it was like not to have the basics. However, I am glad that I was able to fulfill my childhood dreams."

"You don’t have much time. If you think too long or too much, sometimes that is wrong. If you have one idea and know it from the first minute, do it. Shoot. I had so little space in the box. Think too much, the defender comes to block you."

"Everything you do before the game, the routine is also important to keep the high-level concentration. The brain gets the information that something important is coming. He asked what I do. I said: ‘I don’t know, I do a few things.’ But before the next game I was more focused. Every time I put the left boot on first."

"Before I had a lot of problems with my body language – being more a part of the game and training. My body language was the same. Sometimes you have to be more angry. For me that was never going to happen."

"Playing in the USA? I don't know because I don't know what does it mean for me and when. For sure, I know a lot about the MLS because a few Polish players and also German players was playing there, and they talk to me about the life but also about MLS and they make every year a step up. It means they want to be better and I don't know what does it mean exactly for me but I would say I'm very happy to be [at Bayern] and I don't think about so long future."

"My parents took my ambitions seriously. They took an hour each way to training. They were waiting for me, and when I wanted to go home alone, I took the bus from Warsaw to Leszno for two hours. When I was late, I had to seize an opportunity, sometimes someone took pity and took me away."

"For sure, as the captain, it’s something bigger. The expectation is higher. Playing for the national team is a responsibility."

"I score so many goals, this means a lot. I know I will always be a little bit behind and I have to maybe work harder than those players for my country if we want to achieve something. It’s not an easy job for me, but I’m not afraid. I’m not afraid. It’s a big chance."

"My body is my work. You have to be patient. Maybe you don’t see the difference after a few months, but after a few years you will see why you can play longer and stay on a higher level longer."

"Lewi has the most incredible body, it is just pure muscles. It just stuns the other players in the changing room."

"Technically he was always great, now he also has that cool head. The way he scored the goals is phenomenal. For me he is the best and most complete striker in the world at the moment."

"A record is always something special for every athlete. And these 40 goals are so legendary that I still do not fully understand that I am on a par with such a legend as Gerd Müller. However, I wanted to break this record and surpass it by at least one goal. This step was my goal. But 40 goals make me proud of myself. I could not have dreamed that in one season you can score so many goals."

"He showed his quality again, although he does not have to prove his class to anyone. We have to see that he is at 100 per cent, and then he is enormously important to us. And that’s why the club are not letting him go."

"It's all about the balance of the team. That's the most important point, nothing else. For that reason, it's easy for me to adapt to several different styles of play. I know I have to adapt and play for the good of the team. For me, being a strong striker is not only about being a good goalscorer."

"You might be surprised to find this out, but sweets were a big problem for me when I was younger. It didn't matter what it was, I couldn't walk past it without buying it. Now I've cut sweets out. It actually took me several years to get to this point. Now I don't really like sweets anymore."

"How he pushed himself to become the player he is today, that’s extraordinary. He took every step he needed to be that goal machine. Every one."

"The professional player in me came out. The button changed from off to on, and I saw the difference between playing for fun and playing to win. You have to choose whether to have fun or whether to compete."

"You can think: I have scored once, it’s enough,” he said. “You can lose focus, start freestyling. Or you can think I have scored once, so maybe I can score another. Is one enough, or do you want more? You need the button."

"I remember exactly. When I was six years old, there was only one idol for me: Roberto Baggio! Alessandro Del Piero later became my role model in football, and I admired him. However, I was not yet able to judge exactly what characterizes his style of play, I was just too young for that."

"Lewandowski is one of the best strikers, if not the best striker, in the world."

"If you see what we did in this run it is amazing, spectacular — because we won everything that we could. This is something special.... All of these awards are the prizes for something special."

"I thought that if I changed the things I did, it could help me play at a higher level for longer. I knew I could not expect immediate results. I did it because I had to try. I knew if I started at the top level a little later, I could be there for longer."

"He is the most professional player I have ever met. He is always there, never injured, because he focuses on these things. He always knows what is important to be in the best condition. But I was always very, very pleased with him, from the first moment [we met]."

"He is the complete striker that I often compare to – since I was myself a striker – to a phenomenon that I played against many times myself. ​Marco van Basten. At my time, Marco van Basten was the most complete forward in the world, in the late 80s and early 90s. And I think Robert Lewandowski put his stamp on the last decade like nobody else."

"If I win something, I’m very proud and very happy but I cannot get it. ... Someone made the decision like that and life goes on."

"I cannot yet assess the significance of this achievement for my future life. Even a 40-goal moment is already something special. Until now, it was simply unthinkable for me that I would be able to reach this mark, although I always give my all until the end of the season to see what the final result will be. I was aware of the debate about whether I was worthy of surpassing the historical record of Gerd Müller or not."

"He had a heart of gold, a great sense of humor and will be missed by the many people who loved him."

"I am devastated to learn of Roger Moore’s passing. The first leading role I ever had as a Bond girl was such a new and frightening world and Roger held my hand and guided me through every process. He taught me about work ethic and humility. He was so funny, kind and thoughtful to everyone around him and in that Roger taught me what a movie star really was and should be. Through his lifelong work with UNICEF he showed me the true meaning of being a humanitarian and giving back. He was my Bond."

"He embraced the role with an easy charm and grace that let us all in on the game. He saved the world seven times and then went on to become an even greater man working to ‘save the children’ with UNICEF. He never forgot the audience and we shall never forget him. I am proud to have followed in your footsteps Sir Roger."

"I think Roger is the best Bond, of course – not just because of being my Bond, but because if you read the early Ian Fleming books describing him, that’s how he was, he was a bachelor, unattached, he was luxurious, sophisticated, and he was not available for females so no long term relationships there. I think Roger really portrayed that."