Antonio Valencia was a great servant for Manchester United.
The Ecuadorian was signed from Wigan Athletic in the summer of 2009, with Sir Alex Ferguson looking to fill the void Cristiano Ronaldo left after departing to Real Madrid.
Antonio Valencia was handed the infamous number seven shirt, and considering the immense shoes he had to fill – he had a great career at Old Trafford.
He spent 10 glorious years in Manchester, departing in 2019. The 38-year-old is now enjoying retirement but recently featured in red again – in a Legends fixture in Dubai.
Antonio Valencia shares photo with Juan Sebastian Veron
Former pros were back in action in the Legends Football League, which is an all-new tournament which featured some of Manchester United’s and the world’s best-ever players.
Taking to Instagram before the game, Valencia shared a photo of a very unexpected partnership, with the winger linking up with ex-Manchester United midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron.
Valencia’s caption translates in English, ‘Met this great player @juansebastian.veron‘.
A very unlikely partnership, but two undeniably fantastic players. They unfortunately were on the losing side in their fixture.
The Red Devils lost 8-3 to a World XI side, that featured ex-pros such as David James, Clarence Seedorf and Robert Huth.
Manchester United’s side consisted of some star-studded names, including Dimitar Berbatov, Patrice Evra and Dwight Yorke.
Juan Sebastian Veron never lived up to his name at Manchester United
When the Argentine was brought in for a whopping £28.1 million, a club record at the time, fans had severely high hopes for the tenacious midfielder
He was already established as one of the game’s great midfield generals and everyone couldn’t wait to see what he could bring to United.
Sadly, he never really lived up to the hype. He played just 83 times for the club, before transferring to Premier League rivals Chelsea in 2003.
A shame, but United certainly weren’t short of world-class midfield talent at the time.