MANCHESTER, July 17 – New Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia brushed off comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo on Thursday and insisted life in the north-west of England suited him just fine.
The Ecuador player moved from nearby Wigan for 17 million pounds, a fraction of the world record 80 million pounds United received from Real Madrid for Ronaldo.
"I don’t make any comparisons between myself and Cristiano," said 23-year-old Valencia.
"Obviously Cristiano did very well here but, when I had my first conversations with Manchester United, it was never said I was coming here as a replacement for him.
"What I want is to make sure I do my own job and concentrate on the things I do well.
"That is the main thing for me because I have a real desire to be a success here."
Valencia added that he has no intention of following Portuguese superstar Ronaldo to Spain.
"I love it here," he said. "I love life in England and I love the football.
"When I was a kid I always dreamed of playing in a league that was this good. I am delighted to have the chance and so far the Premier League has been great for me."
Meanwhile, Serbia defender Nemanja Vidic was missing from the United squad that headed out to Malaysia for the first leg of a four-match Far East tour.
Although United have not given a reason for Vidic’s absence, the defender was forced to pull out of a World Cup qualifier against the Faroe Islands last month after suffering an ankle injury in Serbia’s victory over Austria.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson will hope to have the former Spartak Moscow man ready for the start of the team’s Premier League title defence against Birmingham on August 16.
