Here, AFP Sport takes a look at some of the best quotes — including a cameo from Eric Cantona — following Thursday’s draw for this season’s group stage in Monaco:
“Napoli again! I don’t know how often I’ve now played against Napoli, but they’re obviously a very experienced side. I will need now to have another, closer look at Genk and Salzburg, but I already know they are very young, very exciting and very fresh, so it will be interesting, 100 per cent.”
– Jurgen Klopp on the task awaiting holders Liverpool in the group stage.
“I think it’s a brilliant group! Good opponents and obviously playing against Liverpool, that’s a huge game, a superb team and an unbelievable challenge.”
— Salzburg coach Jesse Marsch on playing reigning champions Liverpool.
“Tough group, like always, the group stage is always like that but we are confident. We are Juventus and we are looking forward to starting well in the Champions League. It is a difficult competition to win but we are very confident for this year.”
— Cristiano Ronaldo after Juventus were drawn to face Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen and Lokomotiv Moscow in Group D.
“We have shown we can win trophies and win the Premier League and we just have to be ourselves. In the Champions League, everything has to be perfect because if you have one mistake in the quarter-finals, you are out.”
— Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain.
“I’m a little upset about Manchester City. Now it’s three years in a row.”
— Shakhtar Donetsk forward Junior Moraes bemoans his side’s bad luck.
“Manchester City are a team from another world.”
— Dinamo Zagreb captain Arijan Ademi.
“A few of us from the team were stood together at breakfast this morning and we all agreed that we’d love to draw Barcelona. Buzzing that it’s actually happened.”
— Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus.
“That really is a very tough group, which makes it an even bigger challenge for us.”
— Lucien Favre after seeing his Dortmund team drawn against Barcelona and Inter Milan.
“We know like every year that we will have to be up and ready from the very first match. We will prepare in order to perform from the beginning.”
