Nani Almeida da Cunha

Luis Carlos Almeida da Cunha, nicknamed ‘Nani’, is a Portuguese professional football player. He spent most of his career playing for Manchester United. He has also been capped by the Portugal Men’s National Football Team more than 100 times.

Player Profile and Personal Life

Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha was born on November 17, 1986 in Amadora, Lisbon Metropolitan Area. He stands 177 cm tall and he plays a winger.

His older sister gave him the nickname ‘Nani’ when he was a young kid. He is childhood friends with footballer Manuel Fernandes.

Despite growing up in Lisbon, he and his brother were fans of FC Porto.

Youth Career

He started his youth career playing for Real Massama when his brother took him there when he was 14 years old. By the time he was 16, he was training with Sporting CP and Benfica.

Having started his career as a boy with Real Massama in Portugal, Nani soon caught the eye of Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon, who promptly signed him up to their youth team. He was promoted to the first team upon impressing in the National Junior Championship of 2004-05.

Senior Career

Nani made his senior debut for Sporting CP in a UEFA Champions League fixture against Udinese.

He then made his premiership debut on August 28, 2005, in a 2-1 away win over Maritimo. His first goal at senior level arrived on October 30 when he opened the scoring in a 2-2 draw at Boavista.

In his second season at Lisbon, Nani scored a total of six goals in 40 league appearances.

That season, he also helped the team win the Portuguese Cup. His overall performances earned him a 25.5 million euro move to English Premier League giant Manchester United in June 2007. In his career, he would play for Manchester the most times with 147 appearances.

Although he was capable of producing some spectacular moments on the football pitch, his time at Manchester United was largely underwhelming as he never realized his true potential.

Having joined the club as a promising winger, it was expected that the winger would go on to be just as good as his compatriot, Cristiano Ronaldo. However, it was not to be.

Following the sale of Ronaldo to Real Madrid, Nani started to see more action.

The 30-year-old raised his game to a whole new level the following season when he was awarded the Player’s Player of the Year at Manchester United’s awards night on May 18. He also made the Professional Footballers Association Premier League Team of the Year for the first time that season.

His final season at Manchester United under David Moyes saw him sign a new five-year-deal at the club in September 2013. However, indifferent form and injuries kept him on the sidelines in what was the worst season for the club in the Premier League era.

He would eventually leave United and play for Fenerbahce for a season. From 2016 to 2018, he played for Valencia. Nani returned to Sporting on a loan as a part of the deal that took Marcos Rojo to Manchester. Then in the 2018-2019 season, he returned to Sporting CP as a regular player.

He moved to the MLS with Orlando United, before joining the Italian club Venezia. In July 2022, he signed with Victory as a free agent, debuting against Manchester United in a friendly.

In 2022, he signed with Melbourne Victory but in May 2023, they announced his departure from the team.

National Career

Nani has been capped 105 times for Portugal during which he has scored a total of 23 goals.

His only international honor came at the Euro 2016 in France where Portugal won the tournament by defeating the hosts 1-0 in the final. Nani did his part by scoring in a 3-3 draw against Hungary that helped his side make the first knock-out round.

He also scored the solitary goal against Croatia in the last 16 before setting up Renato Sanches’ strike against Poland in the quarterfinal that also saw him convert his penalty in a 5-3 shoot-out win.

Nani also scored the second goal in the 2-0 win over Wales in the semi-final. He also wore the armband for Portugal in the final following Ronaldo’s injury after a challenge from Dimitri Payet.

Individual Honors

• 2007 - SJPF Young Player of the

Month, May

• 2010–11 - PFA Team of the Year:

Premier League

• 2010–11 - Manchester United Players

Player of the Year

• 2014 - SJPF Player of the Month:

October/November

• 2015 - Sporting CP Footballer of the

Year

• 2019, 2021 - MLS All-Star
• 2010–11 - Premier League most

assists

International Career

• 2006–2007 - Portugal U21
• 2006 - Portugal
• 2006–2017 - Portugal