Former Manchester United winger Nani has opened up about his ups and downs with life at Old Trafford.
Nani, who recently made his move from Turkish side Fenerbahce to Spanish giants Valencia, is enjoying one of the finest periods of his career after winning Euro 2016 with his national side Portugal over the summer.
The 29-year-old left Manchester United on a permanent deal at the beginning of the 2015/16 season, was sold for a significantly reduced fee of the £22million Sir Alex Ferguson paid for him eight seasons earlier.
It’s easy to forget that Nani was on the books of the Old Trafford outfit for eight seasons, even when his appearances started to be become less frequent in his final three years it was a new contract from David Moyes that kept him around.
Remembering the moment he first moved to Manchester, Nani spoke of the difficulties of joining one of the biggest clubs in world football.
‘It could have been the best moment of my life but it turned into the worst,’ Nani told the Guardian. ‘After you sign a contract like that, you think all the people will be behind you and help you. And you see the opposite.
‘Then the stress comes. I was down and, when it’s like that, of course, the injuries come too. It was a bad moment. It was something that made me very down, very disappointed.’
Nani, for all his criticisms, starred in some huge games for Manchester United and became a pivotal member of Ferguson’s rotating squad.
The Portuguese winger witness David Moyes’ arrival and subsequent demise and, given a second opportunity under Louis van Gaal, Nani reveals how a conversation with the Dutchman confirmed plans to leave.
‘He [LVG] told me that, if I wanted to stay to fight for a position, then good but I would not be his first option or maybe even the second,’ Nani remembers.
‘I said: ‘No. I have been here for many years, I have been very important to this club and I think it’s time to decide.’ I wanted to play every game in the starting XI.’
Not all bleak. Nani left Old Trafford with four Premier League winners medals and a Champions League triumph and, for that glory, Nani will forever hold the club in his heart: ‘United gave me all that I have in this life,’ he said.
Nani was quick to point out that Alex Ferguson, the man who was on hand to congratulate him after the Euro 2016 final, was the man to guide him to this point in his career.
‘I see him [Ferguson] like a father, angry and shouting at you one minute but in the next, patting his hand on your head and saying: ‘Come on, son.’
‘It was hard to deal with at first, because you don’t know him and his strong ways but when you know him, you learn it is for your benefit. If today I have a strong mentality, it’s a lot to do with him.’
Post a Comment