Valencia apologises after appearing to back Mourinho sack calls

Cape Town - Manchester United captain Antonio Valencia has apologised for liking an Instagram post calling for the sacking of manager Jose Mourinho.

The 33-year-old liked a personal fan account dedicated to him that called for the exit of Mourinho after a 0-0 stalemate against Valencia in a Champions League clash on Tuesday.

Valencia insisted that he was "fully supportive" of Mourinho and his team-mates despite earlier reports that their relationship was on shaky ground. It is believed that the manager and captain had a falling out due to Valencia failing to attend their Carabao Cup clash against Derby.

"Yesterday, I liked a post on Instagram without reading the text that accompanied the picture,” the right-back wrote on Twitter.

"These are not my views and I apologise for this. I am fully supportive of the manager and my teammates. We are all giving our everything to improve the results."

This is the latest episode in what has been a chaotic couple of weeks for Man United after a bust-up between Paul Pogba and Mourinho - again involving Instagram.

Yesterday, I liked a post on Instagram without reading the text that accompanied the picture. These are not my views and I apologise for this. I am fully supportive of the manager and my teammates. We are all giving our everything to improve the results. pic.twitter.com/bMEsrAwMkh

— Antonio Valencia (@anto_v25) October 3, 2018