Antonio Valencia Biography

Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera is commonly known as Antonio Valencia. He was born on August 4, 1985 in Lago Agrio, Ecuador. Valencia is an international soccer player from Ecuador. He plays in the number 25 shirt for his country of Ecuador and current team Manchester United as a midfielder. He is mainly deployed on the left flank of the pitch as a winger due to his incredible speed on the ball and his ability to drive it to the feet of forwards. Valencia has played an important role for both his club and his nation with his footballing ability.

Race

Valencia was fond of football from a very young age. He started his career at the Ecuadorian club El Nacional. During his time at the club he played alongside another prolific striker, Christian Benítez. He made 84 appearances for the club and scored 11 goals. Edison Méndez is the idol of Valencia and had the opportunity to debut alongside this football figure. The Spanish club Villarreal unveiled it on August 1, 2005 at the price of 1.4 million euros. Valencia could not reach the first team and he was transferred to Recreativo de Huelva. With his inclusion in the team, they won promotion finishing first in the 2 ^{North Dakota}level league. Valencia was then signed by English side Wigan Athletic in August 2006. He was initially loaned out. Realizing the importance of him, the club went on to secure him on a full contract. He made his debut for the club in the match against Newcastle United on 19 August. They lost the match 2-1. He had to wait less than October 21 to score his first goal for the club. The goal came in the match against Manchester City. They won the game 4-0. The player got the full contract on 18 January 2008 and the deal was supposed to be worth around £5 million. Valencia made a total of 88 appearances for this English club and scored 7 goals.

Valencia’s career took a leap after he signed for Manchester United in the Premier League on June 30, 2009. He signed a four-year contract. The deal was rumored to be worth around £16 million. He made his debut for the club on July 29. He scored his first goal during the course of his debut. The game was played for the Audi Cup and they played against Boca Juniors who won 2-1. The 2009 FA Community Shield was his first competitive debut for the club. Valencia wears the number 25 shirt in all matches, while it was confirmed that he would wear the number 7 shirt on 3 July 2012. The number had previously targeted numbers of prolific players such as George Best, Johnny Berry, Bryan Robson, Steve Coppe, Eric Canton, David. Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo. The club won the league with him in the season. Valencia returned to its original number 25 jersey for the 2013-14 season. With Manchester United, he won a series of honors and achievements that any footballer would dream of.

Prior to his senior international career, he was part of Ecuador’s under-20 team. He was with Christian Benítez. He scored 17 goals in 23 games with the Ecuadorian Under-20 team. Valencia won his first international cap on March 27, 2005. He scored two goals in his first cap. The match was against Paraguay and the result was in their favor 5-2. The match was played as part of the World Cup qualification. Valencia played for Ecuador in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was also shortlisted as a potential candidate for the Gillette Best Young Player Award.

honors and achievements

Valencia helps his team El Nacional to win the Serie A 2005 Clausura. He guided Recreativo de Huelva to the first division of La Liga, winning first place in the Segunda División in the 2005-06 season. With Manchester United, he won the English Premier League twice in 2010-11 and 2012-13. He won the football league cup in 2009-10. He has won the FA Community Shield twice in 2010 and 2013.

Valencia also has numerous individual awards. He won the Alan Hardaker Trophy in 2010. He was in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year in the 2009-10 season. He won the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award in the 2011-12 season. He was Manchester United Players’ Player of the Year in the 2011-12 season. He also had Manchester United’s Goal of the Year in the same season.

Personal Life, Spouse, Siblings, Body Measurement, Salary

Antonio Valencia is married. He was married to Zoila. The couple have a daughter named Domenica. He was born when Valencia was playing in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Valencia has a brother Eder who is also a professional footballer. He plays for the Ecuadorian club Independiente José Terán. Valencia has been learning English to make his stay in England more comfortable.

This 28-year-old midfielder is 180 cm tall and weighs 78 kg. He is stronger with his right foot. He has an annual salary of £4.68 million. The net worth of him is £5 million.