"I would not be here if I thought I was not good enough," he said from Spain, as his team wound up its preparations for the UEFA Champions League play-off first leg against Monaco on Thursday (AEST) and the La Liga opener against Rayo Vallecano at the weekend.
Ryan signed a six-year contract with Valencia on the back of two outstanding seasons with Club Brugge - where he was twice named Belgium's Pro League goalkeeper of the year - and another with his first professional club, Central Coast Mariners.
"You've got to have self-belief because you would not be anywhere without it," Ryan said.
"I definitely would not have made the big move to Spain if I or the team of people around me did not think I was ready.
"Pre-season has gone well and the feedback has been quite positive and I have a good feeling of being important within the group.
"I hope to be out there when we take on Monaco in the first leg at the Mestalla on Wednesday night.
"I feel I'm settling in quite well. I'm interacting with the players and staff as much as I can and every day I am learning more of the language, which is important."
Ryan, who is the Socceroos' No 1 goalkeeper, has hardly had time to reflect on a whirlwind career that has taken him from living in a caravan on the Central Coast to one of the great theatres of European football in the space of two-and-a-half years.
He got an idea of the magnitude of his new environment when he arrived in Valencia after his holidays in Australia.
"You soon get the feeling that you are at a massive club," he explained.
"I got a sense of this when I walked out on to the Mestalla for the first time. Its size is breathtaking.
"I was also taken by the massive following of the public, they are really passionate people here.
"They threw the new players a welcoming party at the stadium and 5000 fans turned up."
Ryan will have to get used to greater demands from the media in a high-profile competition that is graced by such world class performers as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
"With La Liga being arguably the best league in the world, the media commitments understandably are quite high," he said.
"I have found myself doing a variety of things with the media.
"The first thing that struck me in Spain was when I was asked to take a secret exit at the airport after I arrived.
"But I was chased by cameramen after they found out that I had taken a different exit."
It is no secret that Ryan was not satisfied with his overall performance in the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, where he conceded nine goals in three Socceroos losses to Chile, Netherlands and Spain.
"I have a certain standard of performance I always want to live up to no matter who or where I am playing," he said.
"I see my move to Spain as a chance to prove that I am good enough to play at the highest level, which is something I have always wanted to do.
"So I guess whoever is watching me I can show that I have what it takes."
Ryan said he is still pinching himself to see if he really is part of a competition that is home to so many fantastic players and with a chance of playing in the Champions League, which is the pinnacle of club football.
"It is still a little funny and unbelievable," he conceded.
"Hopefully if I remain fit and in form I'll get the opportunity to face some of the best teams and players in the world.
"This is everyone's dream and I am relishing the opportunity.
"You always want to play the big games against the big teams and the Champions League provides that opportunity.
"I hope we can do the job against Monaco and then show the rest of Europe what Valencia is capable of."
Ryan said Valencia, which reached the Champions League final in 2000 and 2001, was leaving no stone unturned in its bid to be successful at home and abroad.
"The club owners have said their objective was to win La Liga and the Champions League and are always putting in plans to achieve their aim," he said.
"Beating Monaco and qualifying for the UCL has been described as a 'must'.
"So that's our first big goal for the season."
Barring injury, Ryan is poised to return to national team duty for Australia when it takes on Bangladesh in a World Cup qualifier in Perth on 3 September.
