Graeme Le Saux

“Homophobia is the last taboo in football.”

“I've been called a 'poof' and a 'faggot' on the terraces and I'm not gay. It doesn't bother me in the slightest but it's a form of abuse.”

“I've got an opinion and I'll give it. I'm not afraid of anyone.”

“My interests outside of football were an issue for people. Some players would see me reading a broadsheet and say: 'What are you reading that for?'”

“Winning the Premier League with Blackburn was the pinnacle. We were a team of individuals who came together.”

“The abuse I got was because I was different. It's not a football thing, it's a social thing.”

“You learn more from your defeats than you do from your victories.”

“The Premier League is an amazing product, but we have to be careful that we don't alienate the grassroots.”

“I read The Guardian, I went to museums and I was interested in things that weren't meant to be what a footballer was interested in.”

“Mental health is just as important as physical health, especially in a high-pressure environment like professional sport.”