Former Barcelona and Manchester United goalkeeper Victor Valdes got a bit of a raw deal earlier this season when doubts over David de Gea’s commitment to the team came into question. Things got so bad for the Spanish goalkeeper that he apparently thought he might die at Old Trafford and nobody would care what happened to him.
In an interview with El Pais [per The Sun], Valdes revealed that he felt so isolated after being excluded from training with the first-team and was only allowed to train with the goalkeeping coach. He added that he was worried that he might get knocked out in training, swallow his tongue and nobody would be around to help him.
“What if I were to hit the post and were to lose consciousness, and if I swallowed my tongue?” Valdes told El Pais.
He continued, “Alan replied, ‘I’ve got my phone in my pocket, I’d call and they’d come to help you.’ I told Alan, ‘I feel very alone.’”
However, Valdes stopped short of putting too much criticism of embattled Man United manager Louis van Gaal, thanking the Dutch boss for giving him his big break at Barcelona nearly fifteen years ago.
“He (LvG) gave me the chance to debut at Barca, he picked me up when I didn’t have a side and he gave me the chance to recover from my knee injury.
“I’ll always be thankful. Deep down, if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here.”
Valdes was loaned out to Standard Liege during the January transfer window. He made just two appearances for the Red Devils in his first 18 months with the club, making just two appearances.
In his 12-year tenure at Barcelona, Valdes made 535 appearances, won five Zamora Trophies and was a two-time La Liga goalkeeper of the year.
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