It had never been a decision to choose between the French national team or the Senegalese national team because I was growing up in France and playing in the French youth national team, so it was something really normal.

I had to prove everything because I was coming from Milan, and nobody knew me. I was a young talent who hadn't done anything, so I had it all to prove and all to do.

I think what African football needs is better organization, better structure, and I think, after that, we'll help the players to be more professional when they're coming to play for their national team.

When you're in youth development, you have to develop players - win or come in second. But the job where I am and the reality of our industry is to win to be successful, and that is what I have to do. I have to be successful, and I want to be successful, so we'll do everything we can do to win.

I'm closer to being happy. I'm doing things that make me happy. In football I loved to practice and I loved to play, but I hated to be in meetings, hated to talk to the media, hated to have cameras in my face, hated to sign autographs. I hated to do all those things.

I just felt like I didn't have to go back to football. Anytime I don't have to hit somebody, I'm all for it.

Going back about 10 years ago, the only thing a black kid could do to get out of the ghetto was being a sports star. Now we can add music to that, which is a good achievement in itself.

I have strong interests in supporting sport, primarily football, and also in developing cultural relationships within national communities and their diasporas, with special reference to Ethiopia.