1. Bill Shankly (on football’s importance): “Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.”
2. Sir Alex Ferguson (on Manchester United’s spirit): “Football, bloody hell.”
3. Eric Cantona (on the media): “When the seagulls follow the trawler, it’s because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.”
4. Jose Mourinho (introducing himself at Chelsea): “Please don’t call me arrogant, but I’m European champion and I think I’m a special one.”
5. Kevin Keegan (1996 title race): “I would love it if we beat them. Love it!”
6. Sir Bobby Robson: “What is a club in any case? Not the buildings or the directors or the people who are paid to represent it. It’s not the television contracts, get-out clauses, marketing departments or executive boxes. It’s the noise, the passion, the feeling of belonging, the pride in your city.”
7. Thierry Henry: “Sometimes in football, you have to score goals.”
8. Brian Clough: “I wouldn’t say I was the best manager in the business. But I was in the top one.”
9. Gary Lineker: “Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.”
10. Ian Holloway on Cristiano Ronaldo: “He’s six foot something, fit as a flea, good-looking – he’s got to have something wrong with him…. Hopefully he’s hung like a hamster – that would make us all feel better. Having said that, my missus has got a pet hamster at home, and his cock’s massive.”
11. Roy Keane on hitting Carlos Queiroz: “I regret not doing it.”
12. George Best: “I spent a lot of money on booze, birds, and fast cars. The rest I just squandered.”
13. Peter Crouch on what he’d be if not a footballer: “A virgin.”
14. Zlatan Ibrahimović on his World Cup absence: “A World Cup without me is nothing to watch.”
15. Gordon Strachan (on dealing with pressure): “I’ve got a yogurt to finish by today, the expiry date is today. That can be my priority rather than Agüero.”
16. Jamie Carragher: “If you’re a burglar, it’s no good poncing about outside contemplating what you’re going to do. You’ve got to get in there.”
17. Jurgen Klopp on his playing style: “I never succeeded in bringing to the field what was going on in my brain. I had the talent for the fifth division and the mind for the Bundesliga. The result was a career in the second division.”
18. Arsène Wenger: “When you give success to stupid people, it makes them more stupid sometimes and not more intelligent.”
19. John Motson: “For those of you watching in black and white, Spurs are in the all-yellow strip.”
20. Sir Matt Busby: “If you’re good enough, you’re old enough.”
21. Kenny Dalglish on a heavy defeat: “The best way to defend a lead is to increase it.”
22. Frank Lampard on football intelligence: “Intelligence in football is not just about being smart on the ball but knowing how to be in the right place at the right time.”
23. Roy Keane on Manchester United’s rivals: “I’d waited long enough. I fucking hit him hard. The ball was there (I think). Take that you cunt. And don’t ever stand over me sneering about fake injuries.”
24. Pep Guardiola: “I sit down and watch videos. I take notes. That’s when the ideas come. The ideas are born from watching images, moving images.”
25. Steven Gerrard on Liverpool: “I’ve got Liverpool in my heart, and I always will. I’m still a fan myself. I still watch all the games, and I want them to do well.”

These quotes represent just a fraction of the countless memorable phrases that have come out of English football, each encapsulating different aspects of the game’s drama, humor, passion, and beauty.