Kobbie Mainoo is the face of Manchester United right now, but former Old Trafford winger Nani just isn’t completely convinced.
Nani left Manchester United almost a decade ago, yet some of his incredible moments still live on in the minds of fans who saw him play.
Nani was a victim of Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, however, and never quite looked the same afterwards no matter where he went.
Now, he’s been doing some interviews during Euro 2024 with one asking him to name a combined England and Portugal team.
While doing so, he snubbed a current United player in the form of Kobbie Mainoo, here’s what he said.
Nani snubs Kobbie Mainoo
Nani is a cult hero for Manchester United for all the trophies he won during his time and also his skills and goals, but his latest take won’t have left fans happy as he snubbed Mainoo.
Speaking to talkSPORT, the Portuguese winger was asked to pick a combined Portugal vs England XI and while doing so, he rejected the chance to choose Mainoo in midfield.
“Vitinha. Mainoo is too young. He needs to learn more. He is a Manchester United player, but he needs some time. Vitinha is doing great.”
While technically he is correct in that Mainoo is young, already the Manchester United academy graduate is a star for club and country and has shone on the highest level, something Vitinha cannot claim to have done.
Friday night also saw Portugal eliminated from Euro 2024, losing on penalties to France. Perhaps Roberto Martinez’s side would’ve done better with Mainoo in the team.
How does Kobbie Mainoo compare with Vitinha
On the surface level, both players are very talented, and technically gifted while also playing for two huge clubs, but they are also quite different in terms of style.
Mainoo is only 19, while Vitinha is 24, a five-year age gap which also means we should expect the Portugal international to be the more complete and consistent player. But what do the stats say?
| Stat per 90 | Mainoo | Vitinha |
| Shot creating actions | 1.83 | 3.58 |
| Passing % | 86.3 % | 90.4 % |
| Progressive passes | 3.02 | 7.85 |
| Progressive carries | 1.19 | 1.87 |
| Successful take-ons | 1.46 | 1.27 |
| Tackles | 2.24 | 1.60 |
| Interceptions | 1.01 | 1.07 |
| Blocks | 0.96 | 1.10 |
| Clearances | 1.46 | 1.30 |
| Aerials won | 0.87 | 0.21 |
From this table, it’s clear the two players are very different with Mainoo being more all-action. But we’d have to say Vitinha does look more impressive purely from these numbers.
However, this is Mainoo with eight months of senior football compared with a player PSG spent £34m on, so Mainoo isn’t expected to be better than him just yet.
Mainoo has also had to contend with a disjointed and honestly terrible United side for much of his senior career to date, therefore it’s little shock his numbers are skewed.
This time next season, it’ll likely be a completely different story.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
