"It is not blasphemous to compare Thiago Silva to Franco Baresi. With all due respect to Franco, who was a sacred monster, but Thiago Silva is just as phenomenal."

"You can't say 'I'll sell Silva and buy a similar player'. There are no similar players around, only worse ones."

"In the world, today, Thiago Silva is the only defender who can change the outcome of a match."

"There are many good defenders that I have played against, but the most difficult one would have to be Thiago Silva."

"The hardest defender I have ever come up against? The guy at AC Milan, Thiago Silva. He's absolutely faultless."

"I would say Thiago Silva from Milan is the best defender in the world."

"At 28, he has a lot of experience and he helps us a lot. He is also a brilliant player - in my opinion he is PSG's best player - and the way he brings the ball out of defence is superb. He's even played a few games in midfield, which shows just what a good footballer he is. For me, he's the best defender in the world."

"I can say that Thiago Silva has no rival in his position. He is by far the best defender in the world. It’s a compliment for me to be compared to him."

"Thiago Silva is currently the reference in my position, so it's flattering (to be compared to him)."

"For me, Thiago Silva is one of the best defenders of all time. We can talk about Baresi, Maldini, and Beckenbauer. They won a lot; we cannot discuss the honours they have won. But Silva's quality, his personality, his tranquility [on the pitch]. Honestly, I've never seen a defender as complete as him."

"Simply the best defender in the world. Whenever he is on the pitch, his presence reassures the others, from the goalkeeper to the attackers."

"I have played with many fantastic central defenders — Thuram, Cannavaro, Piqué, Puyol — but Silva is like all of them put together."

"Deus abençoou os pés desse cidadão, mas se esqueceu do resto e principalmente da boca, porque quando ele fala só sai besteira, ou melhor: só sai m..."

"Está entre Romário e van Basten"

"A corte agora está contente. O rei, o príncipe e o bobo."

"Marcar o Robinho é desgaste físico. Marcar o Romário é desgaste emocional"

"Eu nunca fui exemplo para ninguém."

"Alfonso quem? So falo de quem eu conheco."

"Quando durmo muito, não faço gols, por isso gosto de ficar na noite."

"O Pelé calado é um poeta. Dentro de campo, ele foi o nosso pai. Fora dele, tem de colocar um sapato na boca."

"Parei. Não dá mais. Não tenho mais vontade."

"Quero deixar bem claro que não vou parar."

"Quando eu nasci, Deus apontou o dedo em minha direção e disse: esse é o cara."

"O cara nem entrou no ônibus ainda e já quer sentar na janela."

"Goleiro sempre tem mérito. Mas dessa vez não. Do jeito que bati, até a minha mãe pegava."

"Se você me perguntar por que eu gosto da noite, é simples: é que à noite você vê só o que quer. De dia, é obrigado a ver tudo."

"Não estou indo para o trabalho, mas eles também não estão me pagando. E a amizade continua..."

"The goal of ending poverty is within reach and everyone can contribute to it by getting involved or supporting organizations that are already working to give the poor a better life... No one should be doomed to a life of poverty, whether by birth or as a consequence of war."

"I don't know my weight. By knowing, I get a little traumatized. I purposely try to avoid getting on a scale."

"It is fantastic how clever the guy is. He seems ready for every situation and the bigger the game, the more he can handle it. [...] When you play with him and see what he does with a ball, nothing surprises me any more. One of these days, he will make the ball talk."

"This is not normal. He's not normal, he never has been. He lives in the magnetic spectrum. What a goal this is. Beyond world-class. Astonishing. Cooler than a bomb disposal expert. That is amazing piece of football finishing by King Ronaldinho."

"Football is about joy. It's about dribbling. I favour every idea that makes the game beautiful. Every good idea has to last.."

"Every kid around the world who plays soccer wants to be Pelé. I have a great responsibility to show them not just how to be like a soccer player, but how to be like a man."

"The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning."

"I was born for soccer, just as Beethoven was born for music."

"A penalty is a cowardly way to score."

"[On his unpublicized work as a songwriter.] I didn't want the public to make the comparison between Pele the composer and Pele the footballer. That would have been a huge injustice - in football my talent was a gift from God, music was just for fun.'"

"Pelé is one of the few who contradicted my theory [...] Instead of 15 minutes of fame, he will have 15 centuries."

"Bobby Moore — he defended like a lord. Let me tell you about this man. When I played, I would face up to a defender, I would beat him with my eyes, send him the wrong way; I would look one way and then go the other. Defenders would just kick me in frustration. They would foul me because they couldn't stop me, or because I would confuse them with my movement. I would move my eyes, my legs or my body, but not always the ball. They would follow my move, but not Bobby, not ever. He would watch the ball, he would ignore my eyes and my movement and then, when he was ready and his balance was right, he would take the ball, always hard, always fair. He was a gentleman and an incredible footballer."

"Success is not an accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do."

"When I was a professional footballer at Santos [where he played from 1956-74] there was a lot of time hanging around team hotels doing nothing. My way of passing the time was writing songs and strumming my guitar [...] I have written more than 500 songs. Sometimes I just write the lyrics. Sometimes the lyrics come with a melody. Even now, wherever I go I always have my little tape recorder - and tape everything that comes into my head. All my homes have guitars."