Cruyff Quotes

• I'm a footballing romantic just like Johan Cruyff. We like football that is attractive, attacking and easy on the eye. When you win playing like this it's twice as satisfying. I've always played attacking football: my footballing ideals are very clear and well defined. I've grown up at Barcelona with that style and that's the one I like. I think it's good to win like that, by taking the initiative right from the off.

  Xavi

  Football, Eye, Winning

  24 Copy quote

• I have played against (Michel) Platini, (Diego) Maradona, (Johan) Cruyff and played with George Best — a lot of big names, but none of them has been able to do what Messi does. Two years ago I said that the best player I played against was Maradona and the best player I have played with was Bestie. But I can now say I have never seen a player as good as Messi. He’s in a league of his own.

  John Terry

  Player, Years, Names

  32 Copy quote

• ...and then there was Johan Cruyff, who at 35 has added a whole new meaning to the word Anno Domini.

  Archie Macpherson

  Football, Commentators, Whole

  9 Copy quote

• Leo [Messi] is the best player of all time - better than Pele, Maradona or Cruyff. There have been some great teams in history - Pele's Brazil, Cruyff's Ajax, Sacchi's Milan - but in the past 20 years this Barcelona team is the best.

  Xavi

  Team, Player, Past

  17 Copy quote

• Critics have always questioned whether players like Pele from the 50s could play today. Lionel Messi could play in the 1950s and the present day, as could Di Stefano, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff because they are all great players. Lionel Messi without question fits into that category.

  Alex Ferguson

  Player, Today, Messi

  4 Copy quote

• I think now Messi is probably done more than most players. But he is in the same class as Alfredo de Stefano, Johan Cruyff, Pelé. When he finishes and he retires, he will automatically become one of them. A player that people will talk about forever, while the game of football is as good and as popular as it is. He is a sensational player.

  Bobby Charlton

  Football, Player, Thinking

  17 Copy quote

• Pele wasn't as gifted as George Best and I would definitely put George above Johan Cruyff because he had more heart.

  Johnny Giles

  Heart, Gifted

  6 Copy quote

• My idol was Johann Cruyff (a Dutch soccer player) and I wanted to be like him. But when I realized that I would never be, I decided to do something else. I met the kitchen by chance and quickly became completely enamoured by it.

  Ferran Adria

  Soccer, Player, Idols

  9 Copy quote

• Arsene Wenger was talking about comparisons with Johan Cruyff, a player who only comes around every 10 years and Thierry Henry is definitely one of those

  Gordon Strachan

  Player, Talking, Years

  4 Copy quote