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Nani reveals exact moment he knew Man United were his club
Sep 25 2026 09:18 · By onefootball.com · 4 Reads
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Former Manchester United star Nani has revealed that he always knew he would play for the club.
United career
Nani came through the ranks at Sporting CP in 2005 and stayed until 2007.
He played a total of 76 matches, scoring 11 goals.
In the summer of 2007, he joined Manchester United and would go on to win the Premier League and Champions League in a dream opening season.
Overall, he played 240 matches for the Red Devils, scoring 40 goals across all competitions.
He would eventually win four league titles, two League Cups, four Community Shields and the Club World Cup, to go alongside the Champions League.
Nani also played 112 times for Portugal, scoring 24 goals and winning Euro 2016 in France.
United dream
Speaking to the club’s media, Nani revealed that he always knew he would play for the Red Devils.
Commenting to his former teammate Wes Brown, Nani told the story of where he was when United famously scored two late goals to win the 1999 Champions League against Bayern Munich in Barcelona.
The former Portugal international explained it was a rainy evening in May 1999 and the then 12-year-old was in a town near the border with Spain in his native land.
He explained, “me and my friend were entering the coffee [shop]. And, at that time, exactly in that moment, was the game. It was like two minutes to finish and then we saw the last two goals, when we changed the game and we won.”
Nani added, “I told my friend that day: ‘One day, I will play in that team. That will be my team.'”
The winger would go on to score one of the decisive penalties in the 2008 shootout victory over Chelsea in Moscow.