A biography for Victor Valdeshasn’t been written yet.
“Always in my career, I have played to help my team-mates, to help my coach and to help everybody. I am a part of the team.”
“I worked with Louis van Gaal during my time at Barcelona and to have the opportunity to work with him here at Manchester United is a dream come true.”
“You have to give orders on the pitch, so if you don't understand the system, what kind of orders are you going to give?”
“If I was born again, I wouldn't be a football goalkeeper. They convinced me I had a lot of talent but it's not an easy path and it hasn't made up for all the years of suffering.”
“I have finished games where I have hardly touched the ball, yet reached the dressing room dead on my feet. You think to yourself, 'Why?' and it's because, psychologically, you have to be completely immersed in the game despite not being physically active.”
“I do what I want with my teams.”
“Thank you Frank Rijkaard, for giving me the confidence necessary, and allowing me to achieve glory, getting my hands on the European Cup in Paris.”
“Sometimes at United I thought 'I don't need this,' but I am a fighter and a professional.”
“Lehmann is a very good goalkeeper.”
“Mentally it can be exhausting when you are not physically involved, because you still have to stay completely focused.”
“You are always waiting for your opportunity to play and train every day to show your performance to the manager.”
“That's the most challenging thing for a coach, to adapt their own pride to be able to speak to everyone with their different egos.”
“Lionel is a very important part of the team and there is no doubt he is missed when he doesn't play. But we can't always be waiting for, or dependent, on one individual.”
“Thanks to all my colleagues with whom I've had the pleasure to work with, that involves wearing the Barca crest on our chests day after day, for making me feel important within the group that we developed over all these years.”
“I had two options: stay in Manchester but not play or go to Standard... to enjoy my football, the fans and, above all, to get back to feeling like a footballer and to be able to train every day. I went for the second option.”
“Ultimately, goalkeepers are on their own. I like the solitude.”
“I don't have any bad words for Van Gaal or Manchester United. They helped me through my injury and the manager gave me my chance as a footballer at Barcelona and then again at United. He's like a father figure to me.”
“I recriminate myself when I keep myself in the margins and let people down, especially those who expect better from me.”
“Madrid, Barcelona, Man United are three of the biggest clubs in the world. Everyone in the world wants to play for these clubs.”
“Iker has an impeccable record.”