‘Sometimes you hear people thinking that because of their race or religion, they are superior… racism shouldn’t stop you’

•I did a couple of things for him and kept in touch with the company. We were looking to work together and he wanted to know what’s in my head. I said that anything I did would have to work with my foundation. When he found out about the foundation, things went pretty quick. Since the money is going to my foundation I’m more than happy to be associated with them.

And what are you going to have to do?

•I don’t like to say it, but I’m kind of the male face of the brand right now. On the other side, it’s pretty important that I don’t do this kind of a contract only for the sake of a brand, only for some business. What’s important is the foundation, to do something for youngsters around the world.

It’s important because I come from a bad neighbourhood (Les Ulis, a southwestern suburb of Paris). That wasn’t the best school where I grew up. But I was happy. I do think that kids in those environments need hope, they need to dream sometimes because of all the bad stuff around them. We hope to improve the facilities in school and in sport. I’m lucky I had good parents. But now, many kids are not as lucky or their parents have to take two jobs, and they’re not at home. With the money from Tommy, we hope to rebuild facilities and give the kids a chance.

You are also involved with the Stand Up Speak Up group that is fighting racism and you are an ambassador against racism with FIFA. How much of a problem do you think racism is in soccer?

•We still have the same problem everywhere, things happenned in Spain recently, Italy and other countries, and they keep on happening. Personally, I wasn’t concerned too much about it, but if you think about it, sometimes you hear people thinking that because of their race or religion, they are superior. I just try to live my life. I’m aware of it, but racism shouldn’t stop you. People will always think and believe what they want. But you just have to keep on doing what you’re doing and they shouldn’t stop you from what you want to achieve.

You played eight seasons for Arsenal before your move over the summer to Barcelona. I know you’ve only been there a few months, but what are some of the differences you’ve seen?

•To be honest London is like a big town by far, it’s huge. On another side, Barcelona is kind of a cosmopolitan town, with a lot of foreigners. What is important in terms of football is that both teams play attractive football and I was still OK with that. Arsenal played some great football, and Barcelona have the same approach to the game.

One thing that is more different is that at training sessions in Barcelona we have everyone there — the fans, the journalists. And we travel also a bit, if I can say, like a bit too much.

It’s like the world stops for Barcelona. When I was at Arsenal this was all private. In Barcelona, the fans need to see to you. We have to remember that we play for a country, even though Barcelona is in Spain, it is the capital of Catalonia and the team plays for Catalonia. The fans want you to know that you play for their country.

What else is different?

•It’s not the same. In Spain, we have some kickoffs at 10 pm. In London the fans would kill you for that because in London you eat dinner at 7-8 pm. In Spain 10-11 pm is normal. It is just a different lifestyle.

In Barcelona, whether you’re winning or losing they want to see a great game. As long as they see a great game they will be happy. It is weird to say that. Sometimes, even if you’re winning in Barcelona and you are not playing well, they will let you know. The fans want to see a game of football. In England and some other countries, if you win the fans don’t really care how you play. But in Spain, if you don’t play well, don’t play an attractive game, then they are not happy.

With as much as you’ve accomplished as an individual and a member of Arsenal and France, do you ever look around the field at Barcelona and marvel at the guys you’re playing with now?

•There are some pretty scary names that we have. I’ve played with some great teams before and I didn’t have any bad or good expectations. We have a great bunch of players and I’m just trying to do my own thing. You know, it takes time to adapt and that’s there wherever you go. I was looking forward to moving to Spain. I left my house in France when I was 13, so I’m used to going someplace new. I’m not saying it is easy or that I’ve adapted right away. The prospect of going to someplace new is not a problem.

What has been the most difficult thing for you moving to Barcelona?

•When I arrived in Barcelona I was injured. I had a problem with my groin and lower abdomen (which limited him to only 17 Premier League games last season with Arsenal) when I arrived. For six months I didn’t touch a ball. It was difficult and even now I’m just getting back on track and into shape. Those first two months were hard, I’m sure you can imagine not playing for six months, then arriving in this place and I couldn’t play. But now I can.

What has it been like playing with the likes of Ronaldinho, Messi and Eto’o?

•I will tell you something— when there are greater players in the squad you each need to do even more on the pitch. But I think it makes it even more difficult when you play against us because we are more motivated. You always need to give more because the game is so fragile at the beginning of the season. We started with two away games and we didn’t score so people started complaining and we had to raise our game. If you’re not 100 per cent, being gifted can be a curse. You need your play to match the mentality of the squad. You need to be mentally strong and run for each other. I can’t wait to do something special for the team.

I know you like basketball. What do you find appealing about the sport?

•Just the speed of the game, and everything around basketball. I love it when I go to see a game, I’ve never seen a boring one, apart from one where one team was already winning by 20 points in the last quarter. It started for me as a youngster, I grew up with Michael Jordan. I like the speed, everything, the fans. I love it even more so now that I have friends in the NBA. I’m even more interested.

Last year you came to New York, a lot of people recognised you and went to get autographs. Were you surprised when you were recognised?

•I would love to say yeah, yeah, yeah, it was great to be recognised, but, yes, I was surprised, especially when I saw Spike Lee had my Arsenal jersey on. It blew me away, to be honest. I didn’t know he was into soccer, I didn’t know he was a soccer fan. Yeah, people recognised me in the States when I came last year.

Are you planning to come back to see more basketball games this winter?

•You know, for the first time in nine years I am going to have a break in the winter time (Spain’s La Liga takes time off during the Christmas holidays, while the English Premier League does not). I’m going to have time off and I’m going to come between December 15 and January 2. San Antonio could be cool. If I can, you know I am also a fan of the Lakers, maybe I could go there and see some games. Why not? If I can.

The standard question these days for European stars is if they are thinking about coming to play soccer in the United States. So, are you?

•I think everybody knows that I love America. I always say one day I can play over there, I would love to. It’s still early, but don’t get me wrong. I just love the US, I don’t know why.

I love the way you live. I love American sports. For me, a dream would be to be able to go to training and then to be able to see game of football, basketball, whatever game. For me, it’s like a dream in New York. For me, it’s the best city in the world. I’ve been to New York 10 times. It’s a great town. For me it’s kind of nice being in New York. I do get some recognition, but not like in Europe. When I’m in America I can be myself, I have no eyes on me. If I want to stop and buy a slice of pizza, and just sit on a bench I can do that. It’s difficult to do that in Europe. The cinema, I can go there anytime in New York and watch a movie and nobody knows who I am. You don’t know how great that is.