Nani, was born on 17 November 1986 in Praia, Cape Verde. His predominant position is as a winger. He grew up in the Amadora district of Lisbon, where he and Valencia midfielder Manuel Fernandes, with whom he has been friends since childhood, would often kick a ball about together. Nani started his career in junior football at Real de Massamá before joining the youth setup at Sporting Lisbon.
Nani made his debut for the Sporting Lisbon first team in the 2005-06 season, in which he made 32 appearances and scored five goals. In the 2006-07 season, he was again a regular, making 29 appearances for the first team and scoring five goals. He also played three games in the Portuguese Cup, which Sporting won, as well as six Champions League matches, scoring one goal.
In May 2007, Sporting and Manchester United agreed an undisclosed fee for Nani to sign for the Manchester club. The fee is believed to be in the region of £14m, the alleged value of the release clause in Nani's contract. Tottenham Hotspur were also reported to have made a bid for the player. Real de Massamá received 5% of the transfer fee paid by Manchester United, which is approximately €1.25m. Nani passed his medical at United's Carrington training ground on 6 June 2007, before being confirmed as a Manchester United player on 2 July. It was announced that Nani had signed a five-year contract with the club.
On 9 July, Nani was revealed to the press along with fellow newcomer Owen Hargreaves. He was handed the number 17 shirt for the 2007-08 season, the shirt previously worn by Henrik Larsson during his short spell at the club.
Nani scored on his debut in a pre-season friendly against Shenzhen FC, in which United ran out 6-0 winners. He also scored in the following game against Guangzhou Pharmaceutical with a chip off the right post from the left side of the penalty area. Nani decided to set the record straight after reports suggested he had been banned by Sir Alex Ferguson from doing his trademark somersault celebration for fear of injuring himself. "That is not true," he said. "Ferguson has never spoken to me about this subject and I am going to continue to celebrate goals in this way. The conversations he has had with me are normal conversations, like he has with all players."
Nani made his competitive debut for Manchester United on 5 August 2007, coming on as a substitute in the Community Shield against Chelsea. He marked his debut with a trophy after the Red Devils won 3-0 on penalties, following a 1-1 draw in normal time. This was followed up with Nani's third goal for the club three days later when he scored against Glentoran. The Portuguese youngster celebrated the goal with his trademark backflip.
Nani's Premier League debut came in United's opening match at home to Reading on 12 August as a substitute for Wayne Rooney, who had suffered a foot injury. On 26 August 2007, Nani scored his first competitive goal for Manchester United, scoring a 30-yard winner against Tottenham Hotspur, leading the team to their first win of the 2007-08 season. He celebrated his first goal for the club with his trademark somersaults. Nani also set up crucial goals for Louis Saha and Nemanja Vidic allowing United to beat both Sunderland and Everton 1-0. He returned to previous club, Lisbon in a Champions League tie in September, though it was teammate, Ronaldo who "stole the limelight" by scoring the winner in a 1-0 win. During his first game in the Carling Cup, he was included in a mostly youth and reserve team XI for the Carling Cup match against Coventry City on 26 September, which was a 2-0 home defeat. He achieved an assist against A.S. Roma in Manchester United's second match of the UEFA Champions League setting up Wayne Rooney to score the winner.
Nani scored his second league goal for the club in a 4-1 victory over Middlesbrough at Old Trafford on the 27th October 2007. After dribbling from inside his own half, he cut inside and unleashed an unstoppable strike from outside the box, beating goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer from more than 30 yards. Once again he celebrated with his trademark somersault.
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