Antonio Valencia signs new three-year deal with Manchester United

Antonio Valencia

Ecuador captain Antonio Valencia has signed a new three year deal with Premier League side Manchester United.

The club’s official website announced the deal and Valencia is quoted as saying that he is delighted to be remaining with the club and is excited to be working under new manager Louis van Gaal.

Valencia said: “My time at Manchester United has been like a dream come true. To be the first Ecuadorian player to win the English Premier League was a very proud moment for me and for my country.

“I am so happy to have signed a new deal and am looking forward to working with Louis van Gaal. There is great team spirit within the club and we are all determined to get back to winning ways.”

The winger first arrived in English football when he joined Wigan Athletic on loan from Spanish side Villarreal. He joined the Lactics permanently and impressed Sir Alex Ferguson sufficiently to persuade the Manchester United manager to bring him to Old Trafford.

Despite an excellent start to his Manchester United career Valencia’s form dipped when he was asked to take over the number seven shirt vacated by Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure to Real Madrid.

BREAKING: We're delighted to announce Antonio Valencia (@7AntoV) has signed a new three-year deal at #mufc. More: http://t.co/Im5PwPoqAA

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) June 21, 2014

However the club and van Gaal clearly believe that Valencia is capable of getting back to his best and the new deal signifies that.

Valencia is currently captaining his country at the 2014 World Cup where they are in a group with France, Switzerland and Honduras. Ecuador lost their first match against Switzerland 2-1 but they bounced back to defeat Honduras by the same scoreline.

Desptie starting just 20 league games Antonio Valencia created 26 chances for Manchester United last season, the sixth highest at the club.