page_title: Antonio Valencia
section_title: Wigan Athletic
hierarchical_section_title: Antonio Valencia / Club career / Wigan Athletic
caption_attribution_description: Antonio Valencia of Wigan defended by Gael Clichy of Arsenal.
context_page_description: Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera, known as Antonio Valencia, is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who last played for L.D.U. Quito and the Ecuador national team. Primarily a right-back, he had previously played as a right winger for a large duration of his career.
  After progressing through the youth system at El Nacional, Valencia became a first team regular and made over 80 appearances for the club. He won the Ecuadorian Serie A with them before signing for La Liga side Villarreal in 2005. He only made two league appearances for the Spanish side in between loan spells at Recreativo for the 2005–06 season and later English Premier League club Wigan Athletic from 2006 to 2008. Wigan Athletic later signed Valencia on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee in January 2008. His performances for Wigan Athletic soon attracted attention from several high-profile clubs, eventually signing for Manchester United in June 2009. Valencia was voted into the PFA Team of the Year in his debut season with the club, and he went on to win two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, two League Cups, three FA Community Shields and the UEFA Europa League.
context_section_description: On 3 August 2006, Valencia joined English Premier League club Wigan Athletic, initially on a year-long loan deal. He made his debut for Wigan on 19 August 2006, in a 2–1 loss away to Newcastle United. His first goal for Wigan came in a 4–0 home win over Manchester City on 21 October 2006. Valencia returned after a three-month absence as he played 78 minutes of a 2–0 home loss to Everton on 21 January 2007. Valencia was sent off for the first time for Wigan on 9 April 2007, receiving a straight red card for a two-footed challenge on Wilfred Bouma during a 1–1 away draw against Aston Villa.
  The loan was extended into the following season, and on 18 January 2008, he transferred for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract. The deal was said to be worth around £5 million. Valencia scored his first goal of the 2007–08 season in a 2–0 win over Derby County on 23 February 2008, before netting his first Wigan brace in a 2–0 away victory over Aston Villa on 3 May 2008.
  Valencia's first goal of the following season came in Wigan's 5–0 away victory over Hull City on 30 August 2008. He then grabbed a goal in the 2–1 home win over Manchester City on 28 September 2008, but followed it up by receiving a red card in the 3–2 loss at Liverpool on 18 October 2008. Valencia scored his final goal for Wigan on 13 December 2008, as he inspired them to a 3–0 victory over Blackburn Rovers. Wigan boss Steve Bruce confirmed that Valencia turned down the chance to join Real Madrid in January 2009. On 9 February 2009, Valencia was ruled out of action for three weeks after suffering a recurrence of a hamstring injury. In early June 2009, Wigan chairman Dave Whelan announced that he would not force Valencia to stay at the club.
caption: Valencia taking on Arsenal's Gaël Clichy for Wigan Athletic in 2008
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