Memphis Depay : My knee injury has helped me deal with disappointment 👏

Memphis Depay is enjoying a good start to Euro 2020 with the Netherlands and has just signed for, in his words, the biggest club in the world, but experience has taught the forward to value health above everything else.

Memphis missed half of the 2019/20 season with a cruciate ligament injury in his knee but now says he has been able to take a positive lesson from what was a difficult period.

"I realised that health was the most important thing, whatever else happens. That keeps me focused," Depay said in an interview with UEFA.

"It helps me deal with disappointment, when I don't play as well as I'd like or after losing a match.

"At the same time, you really get to know your body. You know how you should feel before a game, which is really useful for me."

For the Netherlands, Depay at 27 years old finds himself in the middle, between the old guard and the new generation and he sees his role as a creative one.

"I try to use my qualities to create opportunities," said Depay.

"Gini [Wijnaldum] has a great goalscoring ability and engine, which is really important for the team.

"Of course, I played with him at PSV so we know each other well."

Between them, the two who almost became Barcelona teammates have 53 international goals and five of those have come at Euro 2020.

A perfect record in the group stage with eigth goals scored, along with a favourable route to the semi-finals, has many suggesting this could be the Netherlands' year.

"It's logical [that people say that] when you have good results at a tournament, but I keep saying we can't get ahead of ourselves," said DEPAY