- Manchester United legend joins veteran side
- Wythenshawe AFC players have over 2000 top-flight appearances
- The squad has a combined seven Premier League titles
Former Manchester United right-back Antonio Valencia has joined the star-studded veteran team at Manchester club Wythenshawe AFC.
The 40-year-old spent ten seasons at United, making 339 appearances and scoring 25 goals. During that time, Valencia won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, two League Cup trophies, and the UEFA Europa League.
Now, seven years after leaving the north west, Valencia is back in English football. But not quite where you’d envision him to be.
Valencia Joins Wythenshawe
The former Ecuador international joins a long list of ex-Premier League stars at Wythenshawe, including fellow title-winners Joleon Lescott, Danny Drinkwater, Marc Albrighton and Danny Simpson. He’s also set to play alongside ex-England frontman Emile Heskey and former Newcastle striker Papiss Cisse, who is best remembered for his stunner against Chelsea in the 2011/12 season.
Valencia will join a side that sits comfortably as the best in the division—and it does not take much to see why. Seven games played, seven wins, 62 goals scored, just seven conceded and still sit five points clear of second place, South Liverpool.
The squad carries plenty of experience, too. It includes former Everton forward Oumar Niasse, ex-Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, and former Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha.
Alongside them sit George Boyd, formerly of Burnley, and ex-Swansea City midfielder Jefferson Montero.
Across the squad, the players boast more than 2,000 top-flight appearances, almost 500 international caps, and 21 major trophies—including seven Premier League titles.
Valencia and United
The Ecuadorian joined Manchester United on June 30, 2009, for £16 million. He arrived with a near-impossible brief.
Cristiano Ronaldo had just left for Real Madrid, and United needed someone to fill that void. They turned to Valencia, signing him from Wigan Athletic.
The pacey winger never replicated Ronaldo’s output—no one could—but he made his own impact early on.
In his debut season, 2009/10, Valencia drove United to a second-place finish and earned a place in the PFA Team of the Year at right midfield, alongside Patrice Evra, Darren Fletcher and Wayne Rooney.
In 2010/11 and 2012/13, he played a combined 40 league games—an ankle break limited him to just 10 in the former. But he still played his part as United secured their 19th and 20th league titles.
Between those seasons, he hit his individual peak. Valencia claimed the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year, becoming just the third player from the Americas to win it, after Gabriel Heinze and Javier Hernandez.
Why Wythenshawe?
Speaking with Sky Sports back in November, former Premier League midfielder Ireland revealed how a friend and player, Blake Norton, invited him down to Wythenshawe during pre-season.
“Ever since then I’ve never looked back,” he said, speaking after Wythenshawe’s 13–0 win over South Liverpool.
“We’re all retired and it’s nice to get together to continue to play football, keep fit and also from the mental health side of things.”
Cisse would also add on that “We have to have fun, keep fit and enjoy football because this is our life.”
Drinkwater adds: “We’re not here to take advantage of any standard around, this is purely to get some enjoyment and fitness. Hopefully, the opposition see the positives in it as well.”
The English midfielder player a key role in Leicester’s shocking title-winning season in 2015/16, but following a move to Chelsea, he played just 23 times in five years and fell out of love with football.
