The first time I met Leo Messi, I didn't know who he was, only that I couldn't believe the boots he was wearing. But he is like a brother to me. It was at the start of 2005, when I was with the Argentine under-17 squad and I saw him chatting with Ezequiel Garay and some other players about the boots he'd brought back from the U.S.A.
I owe my life to my father. I remember that my first Christmas present was a ball. In the district where we lived, there weren't many kids who had one.
I learned to play football in the streets. Every day of school, everyone came and played football. The street is a good school, and you learn many things there - resiliency, how to play against older players, and how to put up with or dodge kicks.
I knew Manuel Pellegrini from my time in Spain. I'd only heard good things about him, that he was someone who instilled the confidence in his players to go out and play good, attacking football.
I like it in Manchester. I thought it was going to be much colder, but it is not too bad. And my wife and son are happy here, too.
I like tricks; I like to dazzle. Dribbling and leaving your opponent on his backside is what life is for. If I achieve what I want to, then I'll mark a distinct era in football. I'm the Che Guevara of modern soccer.
There were days when my father didn't have money for food, and we slept hoping the next day something could be got from work.
I've always liked Liverpool. I'd play a lot of video games, and I'd be them, because they played in red, like Independiente, my first club, Arsenal, or Chelsea.
I'm very happy at City, very happy since the day I came. I knew that the project was good, and in my head, there is nothing else but Manchester City, so how long I'm going to be at City is just never a question.
I always got on well with Roberto Mancini and never had a problem with him. Every manager has their own way of working, tactics, and style of play. As a player, you do what the manager says. There are misunderstandings, but generally, everything was fine under Mancini.
I'm often asked where my nickname 'Kun' comes from. My parents says it was a Japanese cartoon I used to watch on television when I was very young, set in the Stone Age, where the main character was a boy called Kum Kum, the little caveman.
I'm adapting quite well to English football with the same will I've always had.
I like to think that people who really know me understand I am the same person - and that is something I will always fight to maintain. Obviously the money is there, but I want to stay the same. At the same time, I want my son to enjoy what I didn't have. My father-in-law often looks at all the toys and games Benjamin has.
When I moved from Independiente to Atletico Madrid, I was only 18, and I found it hard to adapt. But what surprised me most about moving to England was how fast the game was. I like it, but it is so quick.
