Are you confident of winning more trophies this season?
Pre-season went well - we won a lot of games and scored a lot. The only matches we lost were on penalties so we feel we're ready to go. But pre-season is pre-season and once the league begins it's a different story - you start from scratch. So it's difficult to say how we'll go but I can tell you one thing: the team are desperate to win the league again. We've bought a few new players and they've adapted very well, so we're looking forward to challenging again for trophies.
Much has been made of losing Cristiano Ronaldo, but Antonio Valencia doesn't look too bad…
He's been very good and I think he's the sort of player that gives us good balance. But people shouldn't compare Valencia to Ronaldo: they're completely different people and completely different players. You can see already that Valencia brings something new to the team and I think he's a very good buy.
What's he like to mark? I'm sure you've come up against him in training…
Yes, but he has no chance against me! I don't care who I'm marking, I always try and be strong in the tackle and win the ball. But it's true he's a very good player. I like his mentality - he wants to improve, he's powerful and he likes to run at defenders.
We saw you interview Ji-sung Park for MUTV in Korea. If you weren't a footballer, what career path would you take?
I'd be a babysitter… a babysitter for my son. And when I retire maybe I can babysit for all the other players. I like children and I like to play football with the young kids, so that's something I'd enjoy. I like TV too - a comedy show with my friend Ji-sung Park would be nice!