Manchester United supporters have mixed memories of Nani’s time at Old Trafford.
Backed to follow in Cristiano Ronaldo’s footsteps, Nani only managed to show off fleeting flashes of brilliance with the Red Devils but inconsistency quickly turned him into a frustrating figure in the eyes of United fans.
40 goals in 230 appearances for United was not the return expected when Sir Alex Ferguson signed him for over £20 million in 2007.
With huge things expected of him, Nani scored some absolute crackers in the Premier League but he was always just as likely to blaze a free kick into Row Z as he was to beat two defenders and rocket a shot into the top corner.
And it’s not just the Old Trafford faithful who were left frustrated by the Portugal international as one of his former teammates, Rio Ferdinand, has explained why Nani failed to develop into the sensation he was supposed to.
“I think the most frustrating thing is when you know you’ve got players in your team with undoubted ability – great ability, got everything – but don’t consistently get that out onto the pitch,” Ferdinand said in an interview with Ball Street.
“Nani was a great player. I remember he started one of the seasons like a house on fire and he definitely would have won Player of the Year if he continued that vein of form.
“He just got sidetracked. I don’t know, he just didn’t do it all the time. He could shoot better than anybody, left and right, and so hard with both feet but he wasn’t consistent with it.
“One would go over here, one would go there. You’d say: ‘hit the target man, you don’t have to hit it so hard,’ but it’s about getting all of that in one place at the same time.”
