Nani reveals two rival clubs tried to sign him when he was at his Manchester United peak

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Former Manchester United star Nani has revealed that two competitors attempted to sign him during his time at the club.

Nani signed for Manchester United in summer 2007, one of the club’s greatest transfer windows of all time.

United bought an instant impact player in midfield, Owen Hargreaves, along with striking deals for Carlos Tevez, Nani and Anderson.

All four players scored penalties in the 2008 Champions League Final shootout to help Manchester United win the trophy, making an instant impact.

The quartet’s fortunes beyond that were very mixed, with Nani lasting the longest at Old Trafford, only leaving the club on a permanent basis in 2015.

The Portuguese winger has reflected on his spell, and feels that he actually spent too long at Manchester United.

Nani on his late Manchester United career

Nani stepped forward into a more prominent role at Manchester United after Cristiano Ronaldo left the club in 2009.

The challenge for Nani was maintaining his consistent form, and he really tailed off under David Moyes.

Nani explained how Manchester United rejected approaches from Barcelona and Manchester City for his services when Sir Alex Ferguson was manager.

He says Moyes promised him a key role, but feels like Ferguson’s replacement failed to follow through.

The winger explained: “Yes, I was a little bit disappointed with Moyes. When I was with Alex Ferguson I had some opportunities to leave, Barcelona, City, some clubs they really wanted me.

“I decided maybe it’s time to move, but Alex Ferguson never let me go, he said Nani is not for sale.

“When he decided to leave the club and give his place to Moyes, I was already decided to move, and then Moyes, he called me and told me I was very important, so I signed a new contract, I had a fantastic pre-season, and then, we start the season, bench, next game, bench, next game, bench, and I started to get frustrated.”

Life after Ferguson was not a harmonious time for Manchester United players, which was not helped by the failure to land any marquee signings in 2013.

Nani extended career until 2024

It is a little remarkable that Nani only announced his retirement in December 2024, bringing the curtain down on a long career.

He actually played in Ruben Amorim’s final match as Sporting manager, as an opponent for Estrela de Amadora.

After leaving Manchester United, Nani played in Portugal, Turkey, Spain, Italy, the USA and even Australia.

He played 230 games for Manchester United in total, scoring 41 goals, and most impressively, winning 12 trophies.