In an exclusive interview with ITV, Gordon discussed how people's perception of him has changed since joining Barcelona, his growing confidence with the England national team, and his regret from the World Cup semi-final defeat. This is the second part of the interview.

Other parts of the interview:

Gordon: Top players have similar talent; only those with the greatest willpower and motivation succeed long-term.

Gordon: I feel I've established my place in the England squad and I'm more confident than before.

Exactly. If you become the best version of yourself, the team will be better too. I hear you have a habit of writing down your goals, including life goals and career goals. Is that true?

Yes, it is. But honestly, that comes and goes for me. Sometimes I write down goals for the next few months, sometimes for the next year, depending on my mental state at that time. That's also what I want to say: mentally, there's no fixed method to success. Before some matches, I feel very down and need to find a way to push myself. Sometimes I walk onto the pitch thinking: "I know I'll play well today, I can feel it."

And when you don't feel that way, you need to do something. Sometimes you even have to find an excuse, like pushing a defender, to get yourself fired up. There's no single path to success.

Did you ever imagine you would join Barcelona?

Yes, although my thinking back then was probably a bit unrealistic. I imagined reaching this level from a very young age, and looking back now, it's amazing. I still often talk to my family about it: why was I so confident when I was young? It seems completely illogical, but that confidence was always there. I can't explain why to anyone else.

When I was at school, I told my teachers directly where I would end up. Looking back now, if a child said the same thing to me, I might think: "Kid, don't say things like that so early." But I don't know why, that belief has always been in my heart.

If you had to describe your move to Barcelona in one word, what would it be?

Opportunity, definitely opportunity. I still have a long way to go before reaching my full potential. I think people see a pretty good performance from me now, but it's still far from the level I want to reach and am capable of reaching. Joining a club like Barcelona and playing with such players helps me get closer to that level.

After completing this transfer and experiencing this season with the England national team, what heights do you think you could reach now?

You know me, I don't like to set limits on myself. I believe everyone can achieve what they want, so I also believe I can become the player I want to be. I need to maintain consistency, I need to prepare properly, which I've always done; and at the same time, some things need to work out my way.

Because before me, some people have achieved great things with less obvious talent, and some people with more talent have achieved less. So I understand that nobody can fully predict the future. Everyone walks their own path, and I hope everything will eventually work out the way I want.

Has joining Barcelona helped you progress?

Yes, one hundred percent. Because I feel that, in many people's eyes, I've become a different type of player. I always felt that in England, people valued me for my pace and pressing intensity, but they never truly recognized my technical ability and football intelligence. It seems only my teammates noticed these things. Now that I'm at Barcelona, I'm playing a different style, and those abilities are more evident. People are also starting to realize that I'm not just a quick player.

So do you think people in England now appreciate your decision-making ability when you play more? Or will that take longer?

I think they're starting to realize it, but more people could see it. As I said, now they see me play for Barcelona, see a different style of football, and my abilities can be highlighted more because of that. When I played for Newcastle United, the team's intensity was very high, with a lot of emphasis on running. So my running and work-rate were always the easiest things to see. Now, I'm playing a completely different type of football.

Sometimes you have to leave your original place to be recognized.

Yes. Honestly, that's something I wanted to do in a way. I wanted to leave the Premier League and have different experiences. I know I'm capable of more than what people think, and I want to show it on the biggest stage in the world. So playing football abroad was very important to me.

Kane is currently one of the Ballon d'Or contenders, and he went through a similar change.

Exactly, he's a prime example. Actually, I've talked to him a lot about this. What he achieved while playing in England was incredible. But as an English player playing in the Premier League, I don't think people, including myself, fully appreciated him at that time.

Once he left, you suddenly don't see him play every week anymore, so you pay more attention to what he's doing. Now he's receiving the recognition he deserves because he really is a very, very good player.

Bellingham is at Real Madrid, you're at Barcelona, Kane is at Bayern Munich. In the next two years, what do you think this England team can achieve?

Win the Euros. If that's not our target, then it's not good enough. As you said, with the players we have, this squad, and our manager, we can achieve anything. There's no gap between us and the strongest teams in the world, and I'm really looking forward to proving that. You know, I'm always ambitious and optimistic. I hope one of these goals will be achieved soon.

Do you think Kane will win the Ballon d'Or?

It's hard to say, because it depends on what you value more and which type of player you prefer. If you value goal-scoring ability, then Kane's performance throughout the season is historic. I can understand why some people would vote for him.

But then there's Lamine Yamal, who in my opinion is the best player in the world. I know there's been a lot of talk about this and there have been debates. However, ultimately the best player will win the award. The Ballon d'Or is a very important award, and I think the selection process will be carefully considered. I wish them all luck.

If you had to describe your World Cup journey in one word, what would it be?

I'd choose "breakthrough". Because before the World Cup, I felt I had never consistently performed well for the England team. Honestly, I had a slow start at the World Cup and didn't play as well as I hoped. At the end of that season, I wasn't playing for my club, so it was very difficult to get up to speed immediately, especially on a stage like the World Cup. However, as the tournament progressed, I gradually found my form. Fortunately, I then played at the highest level. I felt that was a breakthrough because now when I put on an England shirt, I'm so much more confident.

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