Victor Valdes' Wife, Yolanda, Blasts Manchester United over UNICEF Dinner Snub

Yolanda Cardona, the wife of Manchester United player Victor Valdes, has launched a scathing attack against the Red Devils after the goalkeeper was not invited to attend a recent UNICEF charity dinner.

Cardona posted the following on her Instagram account, which shows a selection of United players and their respective partners at the event on Sunday night:

“To not invite my husband @vicvaldes1 to be part of the #united4unicef, it's the last thing you expect from one of the biggest clubs like @manchesterunited,” she stated in an accompanying caption, per Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News. “A Charity event, it's always a Charity event.”

As reported by Luckurst, the only other first-team player not in attendance at the gala, dubbed “United 4 UNICEF”, was Antonio Valencia, who is currently suffering with an injury problem.

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Valdes hasn’t featured for United this season after a bitter bust-up with manager Louis van Gaal. As noted by Luckhurst, the former Barcelona goalkeeper fell out with the Dutchman during pre-season, hasn’t been given a squad number and has been forced to train on his own.

Daniel Taylor of the Guardian wrote earlier this season that Valdes doesn’t even have a locker at the club’s Carrington training complex, wasn't allowed to appear in the team photograph and has his own personal training schedule arranged at different times to the first-team squad, preventing him from liaising with senior players.

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Besiktas seemed set to sign Valdes in the summer transfer window but a deal collapsed at the last minute, leaving the 33-year-old in an undesirable position at United.

Given his current situation at Old Trafford, it seems inevitable the veteran will leave the Red Devils in the upcoming January transfer window.

Valdes recently posted the following on his own Instagram account, in which he suggests “I struggle to be free,” per Luckhurst:

It’ll certainly be intriguing to hear what Valdes has to say when he does leave Old Trafford. In the main, despite being marginalised, he has kept his counsel, although this latest snub has clearly riled his other half.

After what will have been a hugely frustrating spell of his career, you don’t anticipate the Spanish international will hold back given the first chance.

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It’s sad to see such a great goalkeeper in this position, though. These should be the peak years of Valdes’ career and it’s now nearly two years since he played regular football.

For a man who played a key role in one of the greatest club sides of all time with Barcelona, it’s a sad deterioration and hopefully, with regular minutes on the field, he can rediscover his best once again.