Valencia Aims To Shine

Antonio Valencia reflects on his pre-season so far and tells ManUtd.com he is honoured to be the new owner of the no.7 shirt…

“Training for the new season has been going very well. We trained hard in South Africa and China and it was good to play some games. It’s been five years since I had a full pre-season so it's fantastic to be getting this opportunity. It’s gone well and more than anything I’m pleased not have picked up any injuries.

"I’m excited to be wearing the no.7 shirt in the coming season. It's a number I really respect because so many great players have worn the shirt and made history for Manchester United in it. Now I hope I can write my own. It's a new adventure but it's something that I'm very relaxed about and also humbled by.

"All the players are feeling good about the new season. There is a great team spirit amongst everyone. I love being part of this team – I have some good friends here and I laugh a lot with guys like Evra, Nani, Anderson, Bebe and Chicharito, but everybody in the group has a laugh together. When we have to work, we take things seriously. When the time is right to enjoy ourselves, we do that too.

"We are all looking forward to the new campaign. On a personal level, I want to be involved in every game, but to be honest I think more from a team perspective and I'd love us to win all the competitions we play in, particularly the Premier League and Champions League. We are Manchester United and those are the trophies we should always be aiming to win.”