Back in October of 2014, word came out from Manchester United that Victor Valdes was training with the club to rehabilitate from the injury he got at FC Barcelona back in March. The team also announced that his recovery was going to be supervised by team medical staff. Valdes suffered an anterior cruciate ligament damage in his knee that ruled him out of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the last two months of his contract with FC Barcelona.
Rumors started flying around in October that Valdes was going to join the team when the media got wind that Valdes was training, but nothing was verified by Louis Van Gaal or Manchester United’s board. Valdes became a free agent after turning down the offer of a new contract from Barcelona.
Today, it was announced that Valdes was going to join the team, signing a 18-month contract with the option to extend for a further year. After his announcement to the team, Valdes said,
“It is a real honour to sign for Manchester United. I would like to thank Louis Van Gaal and the club for allowing me to do my rehabilitation and to train with the team at the Aon Training complex. From my short time here I can already see this is a very special club. I worked with Louis van Gaal during my time at FC Barcelona and to have the opportunity to work with him here at Manchester United is a dream come true.”
Louis van Gaal then went on to say
“I am delighted Victor has signed for the club. Victor is a very experienced goalkeeper and his record speaks for itself. I have said on many occasions that Manchester United will always be interested in the best players. Victor has remained very professional throughout his rehabilitation from injury and has been very impressive during his training sessions with the first team over the past weeks. He joins the club as the number two goalkeeper and is a great addition to the first team.”
Valdes started his youth career at Barcelona back in 1992 at the age of 10 and made his first team debut in 2002 after manager Radomir Antic gave him the opportunity to prove he belonged with the first team. He played for the Catalan team for 12 years and made 387 appearances in La Liga and 535 appearances in all competitions.
Valdes won six La Liga titles with Barcelona in 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013; two FIFA Club World Cups in 2009 and 2011; three UEFA Champions League titles in 2006, 2009 and 2011; two UEFA Super Cups in 2009 and 2011; 2 Copa del Rey in 2009 and 2012; and six Supercopa titles. In international play, he has won two honors with Spain: the FIFA World Cup in 2010 and UEFA European Championship in 2012.
As an insurance plan, Valdes will be a great addition for Manchester United if regular goalkeeper David De Gea were to injure himself or not sign a new contract with the Red Devils. Valdes also mentioned that he was not there to give De Gea competition but rather to help the team. De Gea should benefit from having a mentor like Valdes.
Quote from: Manchester United Ltd, 2015
Photo by: John Peters/Getty Images
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