Rumours of a rift between Antonio Valencia and Jose Mourinho have resurfaced after Manchester United’s stalemate with Valencia CF, although the skipper has attempted to play down such speculation.
The full-time whistle on Tuesday evening was accompanied by a chorus of boos by the Old Trafford crowd as the scoreboard read 0-0 after a very disappointing Champions League outing by Jose Mourinho’s side.
The poor performance has done nothing to lift the negativity surrounding the club in the past few months, which also hasn’t been helped by the antics of club captain Antonio Valencia.
The 33-year-old was caught liking an Instagram post calling for Mourinho to be sacked after the disappointing performance. The post, by user teamvalencia25, read:
"“I’m not even surprised about the outcome of this game. I always look forward to our games but recently Mourinho has made watching us a punishment now. Something needs to change. It’s time for Mourinho to go.”"
Valencia’s antics seem to corroborate reports in The Daily Mail on Monday which stated that the captain is barely on speaking terms with the Portuguese following their poor start to the season.
However, it should be noted that the Ecuadorian was quick to apologise on Twitter for the supposed gaffe, writing:
"“Yesterday, I liked a post on Instagram without reading the text that accompanied the picture. These are not my views and I apologise for this. I am fully supportive of the manager and my teammates. We are all giving our everything to improve the results.”"
Furthermore, when asked by reporters at Old Trafford if he still supported his manager, the skipper replied:
"“100 per cent […] He is our boss, we have to be with him and we are fighting.“I have never had any problem with anyone, thank God. The decision [to strip Paul Pogba of his vice-captaincy] is for the coach to make, now we need to see the positives: we played an important game and got a point.“Now we have a game against Newcastle and we need to fight. What I can say from the inside is that the lads are calm, working every day with a good attitude. We haven’t got good results and that’s why rumours arise.”"
I guess we’ll have to take Valencia’s apology and press statements at face value for now. However, the added scrutiny brought upon the club at such a volatile time is certainly not appreciated.
Nevertheless, The Red Devils will have an opportunity to bounce back from the shocking result against Valencia when they host Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday.