Manchester United cult hero Nani has now staunchly defended the tail end of his spell at Old Trafford under former Red Devils manager Louis van Gaal.
Signed under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2007 from Sporting CP, Nani was a beloved Manchester United fan favourite and dazzled with flash moments of brilliance.
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However, the 39-year-old former United winger struggled to consistently deliver high-level performances or reach the high bar that people expected him to hit.
Despite his inconsistencies at Old Trafford, Nani enjoyed a trophy-laden period under Sir Alex Ferguson before the iconic former United manager retired in 2013.
The ex-Portugal and Man Utd star captured four Premier League titles, a Champions League trophy and two League Cups with the Red Devils before his 2015 exit.
The major differences that Nani and former Man Utd manager Louis van Gaal shared at Old Trafford
Nani played on at Old Trafford after Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement as Manchester United manager and experienced first-hand the ill-fated reign of David Moyes.
Following David Moyes’ sacking in 2014, United turned to former Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal for their next appointment to the Old Trafford hot seat.
However, Nani was left deeply conflicted with the message from Van Gaal over his role in the United first team, having been convinced of his quality at that time.
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“At first, Van Gaal wanted me to stay, but he arrived with a different tactical approach, a back three, and didn’t use wingers,” he told FourFourTwo magazine.
“I kept training professionally, but also told him that if he wasn’t counting on me, I had nothing to prove and I’d rather leave.
“In the first Premier League match, I started on the bench. The team was losing – when I came on, I changed the game and we equalised.
“After that, he told me not to leave, that he wanted me to stay. I was training at a high level – confident, scoring goals.”
Nani’s message to Louis van Gaal ahead of making his exit from Man Utd and re-signing for Sporting CP in 2014
Nani returned to boyhood club Sporting CP in Van Gaal’s first season in charge at Old Trafford, with United agreeing to send the Portuguese talent out on loan.
The Man Utd cult hero insisted that he made the call to sign for Sporting CP on a season-long loan after Van Gaal could not provide him assurances over his role.
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“But I reminded him that he’d been the one who’d told me I wasn’t a priority, so I made the decision to go,” he added.
“I moved to Sporting and had a fantastic season personally in the Champions League.”
Following his loan spell at Sporting, Nani’s time at United would also come to an end and the ex-Portugal winger signed for Turkish side Fenerbahce in a £4.25m deal.
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