Mangala: "I'm at full strength and ready to compete"

Eliaquim Mangala's return to Valencia CF was confirmed on Tuesday, and by Wednesday afternoon he had already trained with the team for the first time. He capped the day with his first press conference since coming back, and listed his reasons for the move that takes him to Mestalla for a second spell.

"I've got a lot of history with Valencia CF. I could have come here when I was playing for FC Porto, and I had a second chance three years ago. It's positive for me to be here again, as I like the city and Valencia CF a lot. I feel loved here and I wanted to play at Mestalla again. This is the best move for the club and for me," opined the Frenchman, who dismissed suggestions that he would be struggling for full fitness after a period on the sidelines when at Everton.

"It was only the one injury. It was a long term injury, but it was just one injury. I trained well today, I'm ready to compete and I feel as if I were 18 years old again. I'm at full strength," he stated.

"I can offer experience and I think that this team needs continuity. Last season was great for them, and I'm going to try to adapt to the team as soon as possible. We have many games, and every player is going to get minutes over the course of the season. The most important thing here is the team, so I'm going to train at 100%."