Valencia is Ferguson's first signing since Ronaldo's departure
Manchester United have signed Wigan Athletic winger Antonio Valencia on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee.
The 23-year-old Ecuador international is manager Sir Alex Ferguson's first signing since Cristiano Ronaldo signed for Real Madrid in a £80m transfer.
"Antonio is a player we have admired for some time now, having spent the last two years in the Premier League with Wigan," said Ferguson.
Valencia's transfer is reported to have cost United as much as £16m.
"I am sure his pace and ability will make a significant contribution to the team," added Ferguson.

United have been in contact with Wigan over a deal for Valencia over the last "two to three months", according to Latics chairman Dave Whelan.
"I have enjoyed my time at Wigan, but I am thrilled to have the chance to challenge for the biggest honours in club football here," said Valencia, who scored three goals for Wigan last season.
"Playing in front of 76,000 fans alongside players like Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs will be an amazing experience. I can't wait to get started."
Valencia has played 34 times for Ecuador, scoring four goals.
"I hope the fans at Wigan can understand that I am an ambitious guy and a chance like this might never come again for me," said Valencia, who will be 24 next month.
"I am happy that the club has benefited from the move financially because I owe them such a lot. I have had a great time here."
Valencia's transfer is a club record for Wigan, but his departure leaves new Latics manager Roberto Martinez with the task of finding a suitable replacement.

Winning the FA Cup crowns Hiddink's four-month spell in charge of Chelsea
A stunning Frank Lampard strike ended Everton's resistance and ensured Chelsea's interim boss Guus Hiddink brought the curtain down on his brief spell in English football by collecting the FA Cup.
The Toffees had made a dream start when Louis Saha put them ahead after just 25 seconds - the quickest goal in Cup final history.
But Chelsea came back strongly and equalised through Didier Drogba's header before Lampard fired home the winner from 25 yards with 18 minutes left.
The margin of victory should have been greater as TV replays showed that Florent Malouda's spectacular strike moments later had crossed the line after bouncing down off the bar, but referee Howard Webb did not give the goal.
In the end it made no difference to Chelsea, or Hiddink, who deservedly has a trophy to show for the impressive work he has done at Stamford Bridge as he returns to his job with Russia.
Victory at a sweltering Wembley brings to an end the Dutchman's brief love affair with the Blues, which began when he watched from the stands as they beat Watford in the fifth round on Valentine's Day.
And his side again demonstrated the patience and power he has instilled them as they fought back to overhaul a dogged Everton side that took the lead with a terrific early strike.
Steven Pienaar's cross was only half-cleared by Jon Mikel Obi and Marouane Fellaini headed down for Louis Saha to smash the ball past Petr Cech.
The goal clearly rattled Chelsea and their back-four looked nervous whenever the ball came near them immediately afterwards.
But the complexion of the game changed as soon as Hiddink's side settled and began coming forward themselves, using the width offered by Nicolas Anelka and, in particular, Malouda on the left.
Everton right-back Tony Hibbert was given an early yellow card for clipping Malouda's heels, and he spent the rest of the half trying to keep up with the Frenchman, mostly unsuccessfully.
Hibbert was not the only player at fault - he should have received more support from Leon Osman on that flank - but the amount of space they were leaving invited trouble, and Chelsea took full advantage to equalise after 21 minutes.
Malouda, who was completely unmarked, ran on to Lampard's pass and, from his inviting cross, Drogba rose above Joleon Lescott to power home his header.
By now, Hiddink's side were completely on top, with the Toffees unable to keep hold of the ball, let alone use it constructively.
Everton did at least tighten up at the back, with the exception of the hapless Hibbert who was caught out time and time again before the break.
The closest Chelsea came to punishing him further came when a deflected pass span into Cole's path, but the England defender sliced his shot well wide.

Saha's opening goal, after 25 seconds, is the fastest in FA Cup final history
Unsurprisingly, Toffees boss David Moyes made changes at the break - hauling off Hibbert for Lars Jacobsen and moving Tim Cahill further forward in an attempt to wrestle back the initiative.
Even after his reshuffle, Chelsea were still enjoying the lions share of possession and Anelka should have done better when he lobbed over after running clear, but Everton did threaten too.
They showed their intent when from a short free-kick, Leighton Baines whipped the ball into the Chelsea area and Saha's header flew only inches over the bar.
Indeed, the game was still wide open until Lampard's goal on 72 minutes.
The England midfielder collected Michael Ballack's pass, turned inside Phil Neville, and, despite losing his footing, let fly with a tremendous strike that was still rising as it flew into the top corner.
Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard got a hand to the ball but could not stop it hitting the net - and from there, there was no way back for Everton.
Malouda could have sealed victory when Lampard slid him through but lashed the ball over, then was wrongly denied after his long-range shot hit the woodwork and bounced in.
But, despite that let-off, Everton could not find a response and Chelsea remained in control of the match in the closing stages to win the Cup for a fifth time.
Chelsea's future looks increasingly likely to be placed in the hands of AC Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti, but the 2009 FA Cup final will be remembered for how the Blues gave Hiddink a fairytale finish.
Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Alex, Terry, Ashley Cole, Essien (Ballack 61), Mikel, Lampard, Anelka, Drogba, Malouda. Subs Not Used: Hilario, Ivanovic, Di Santo, Kalou, Belletti, Mancienne.
Booked: Mikel, Lampard.
Goals: Drogba 21, Lampard 72.
Everton: Howard, Hibbert (Jacobsen 46), Yobo, Lescott, Baines, Osman (Gosling 82), Neville, Pienaar, Cahill, Fellaini, Saha (Vaughan 77). Subs Not Used: Nash, Castillo, Rodwell, Baxter.
Booked: Hibbert, Neville, Baines.
Goals: Saha 1.
Att: 89,391.
Ref: Howard Webb (S Yorkshire).
BBC Sport Player Rater man of the match: Everton's Louis Saha with 7.96 (on 90 minutes).
Please note that you can still give the players marks out of 10 on BBC Sport's Player Rater after the match has finished.

Chelsea produced a spirited defensive display to stop Barcelona from scoring in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final in the Nou Camp.
The Spanish league leaders enjoyed plenty of possession, but struggled to create many clear-cut chances.
Thierry Henry forced Petr Cech to save and Bojan headed over from two yards, before Cech stopped Alex Hleb's effort.
Chelsea almost nicked a goal as Didier Drogba was foiled by Victor Valdes, while Michael Ballack headed just over.
But Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink will be delighted with his side's defensive fortitude in keeping a clean sheet - a feat not achieved by any visiting side at Barca this season.
It means the Blues will fancy their chances of reaching a second successive Champions League final when they meet in the second leg at Stamford Bridge next Wednesday.
For long periods Chelsea had to be content with watching Barca knock the ball around as they gave another masterclass in possession.
Chelsea played right into their hands, with Cech among the main protagonists as his long, aimless kicks only served to gift the ball straight back to the home side.
But for a team that this season has scored four goals in a game six times, five goals five times and six goals four times, the hosts were unable to broker many genuine chances.
For all the twinkle-toed approach play of the industrious Andres Iniesta and Henry down the left, they struggled to get close to the Chelsea goal with the regularity their build-up demanded.
Twice in the opening stages Cech flapped at crosses from the left but the Blues survived and they fashioned a half-chance of their own when Florent Malouda's cross found Frank Lampard and he curled wide from 25 yards.
Barca were seeing far more of the ball, but they grew increasingly frustrated by Chelsea's solid rearguard action and were quickly reduced to shooting from outside the area.
Henry twice chanced his arm, once testing Cech with a low drive and then lashing in a fierce shot from 22 yards that the Czech keeper did well to parry behind.
It seemed as though Barca were trying to wear Chelsea down, but they were very close to going in at half-time a goal down.
Rafael Marquez's backpass was woefully short and Drogba fastened on to the loose ball only to see his shot well saved by Valdes, the keeper getting up quickly to deny the Ivorian from the rebound.
Chelsea's spirits were lifted by their sudden involvement in the match and right at the start of the second half they nearly took the lead again, Ballack flashing a header wide from Drogba's free-kick.

Barca's Messi (left) takes on Chelsea's Bosingwa at the Camp Nou
The Barca fans were growing increasingly restless at their team's lack of openings and a serious-looking injury to Marquez and a booking for his replacement Puyol that rules him out of the second leg did little to pacify them.
But Pep Guardiola's side continued to probe away in their usual manner and half-chances came and went as the off-key Lionel Messi volleyed over before Daniel Alves, in typically fiery mood throughout, stung the palms of Cech from out on the right.
Alves went even closer when his 30-yard free-kick brushed the top of Cech's net before Samuel Eto'o, on the day he was linked with a move to Manchester City, raced through only to shoot at Cech's outstretched left leg.
Barcelona's best chances came deep into injury time as Bojan, on for Henry, remarkably headed an Alves cross over from point-blank range, before fellow substitute Alex Hleb was foiled by a fine Cech save.
Chelsea may not have got the away goal Hiddink craved before the game, but their Dutch manager will surely be delighted by the outcome.
Barcelona: Valdes, Dani Alves, Marquez (Puyol 52), Pique, Abidal, Xavi, Toure Yaya, Iniesta, Messi, Eto'o (Bojan 82), Henry (Hleb 87).Subs Not Used: Jorquera, Gudjohnsen, Keita, Sylvinho.
Booked: Toure Yaya, Puyol.
Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, Bosingwa, Mikel, Ballack (Anelka 90), Essien, Lampard (Belletti 71), Malouda, Drogba.Subs Not Used: Hilario, Di Santo, Kalou, Mancienne, Stoch.
Booked: Alex, Ballack.
Att: 95,000.
Ref: Wolfgang Stark (Germany).
BBC Sport Player Rater man of the match: Barcelona's Andres Iniesta on 7.57 (on 90 minutes).
Please note that you can still give the players marks out of 10 on BBC Sport's Player Rater after the match has finished.

A former title-winning manager once insisted you could actually smell a club was in crisis the moment you opened its doors - and it seems the stench of relegation has become too overpowering for Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley to bear.
So, to clear the air and avoid the notoriety of being labelled as the man who bundled Newcastle into the Championship, Ashley has taken the latest in a series of managerial gambles.
This time he has to come up with a winner - and in handing the reins to Alan Shearer until the end of the season Ashley may just have hit the jackpot.
Sound footballing logic suggests giving someone with no managerial experience eight games to save Newcastle from relegation is not so much a gamble, more an act of footballing suicide.
Newcastle, however, have rarely operated on the basis of sound footballing logic and parachuting in Shearer may just be the desperate measure that turns into a masterstroke.
Ashley took a punt on the People's Champion before when he gave Kevin Keegan back to the Toon Army. Short-lived and unsuccessful, it was a move doomed to failure once it dawned on Keegan that he was not in full control of footballing matters.
Joe Kinnear's appointment as interim manager had sceptics wondering just how long Ashley's managerial "short list" was before he finally happened on a man who had been operating on football's margins for several years.
Kinnear's heart surgery put a premature end to his tenure this season, and since Chris Hughton and Colin Calderwood took charge, there was a growing sense that this was not so much a ship that was rudderless, but one that was heading directly towards the rocks.
I was at Newcastle's home defeat by Manchester United recently, and despite a performance that was heartening, you could almost reach out and touch the mass pessimism among fatalistic fans.
This is why I believe the arrival of Shearer represents Newcastle's best opportunity of navigating a route to Premier League safety from a treacherous group of final fixtures.
Newcastle need inspiration just as much as nous in their dire situation - and while Shearer is tactically aware and very much in touch with the modern game, it is his sheer presence that will make the biggest impact.This is about his stature rather than coaching badges or years of managerial experience. It could be construed as the latest act of Newcastle madness, but there is actually a method to it.Supporters believe in Shearer, as West Ham United's fans did when Sir Trevor Brooking's short reign as caretaker manager almost produced a miraculous escape from relegation.Shearer will be given their full support. Newcastle's fans will forgive him anything, even relegation. He will swiftly act as a unifying force. It is a quick-fix, but this is no long-term job with relegation ready to embrace Newcastle.Hughton and Calderwood are genuine football men, but are they the leaders Newcastle need in their present plight? Sadly not - uninspiring performances and whispers from inside the dressing room that players felt they needed more from the top prove that fact.
Shearer will galvanise supporters, inspire players - and he will certainly not cast a match-winning talent like his good friend Michael Owen to the sidelines, as happened under his predecessors.This is not a guarantee of success, far from it. It does, however, offer a better chance of achieving the short-term goal of staying in the Premier League than what is on offer at present.It also answers a few questions about Shearer himself. He has never hidden his desire to go into management, eventually at Newcastle, but there were suggestions he was waiting until the situation was at its cosiest before entering the fray.No-one can accuse him of this any more. No-one will blame him if Newcastle go down - there might be hundreds of names on that list before you get to Shearer.But make no mistake, there is huge pressure on him to succeed simply because of who he is and he will also be feeling a massive weight of responsibility as an iconic figure on Tyneside.You might say he has nothing to lose, but will Shearer want to be seen as the man in charge of the team on the day Newcastle drop into the Championship? He is a proud man and a proud Geordie so we know the answer to that.The plus for Shearer is that if Newcastle do avoid relegation, and I am convinced they stand a much better chance now he is at the helm, then it will be the perfect start to his managerial career and provide the ideal platform for him to take the job on a long-term basis should he so wish.On this basis, it may just be that Mike Ashley's last gamble could turn out to be his best.