Former Manchester United forward Nani has officially announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 38.
Nani has enjoyed a largely successful career. The Portuguese star started his career at Sporting CP, but he rose to global reckoning in 2007, after joining Premier League side Manchester United in a €25 million deal.
At the time, he was one of the highest-rated young players in the world, and he was expected to match Cristiano Ronaldo, who had already started dominating football.
At Manchester United, he struck a good partnership with Ronaldo. However, he started to struggle after the latter left the club. Things also got worse for him when Sir Alex Ferguson left the helm of affairs at Old Trafford.
Due to his struggles, Nani had to join Sporting on loan in 2014, before leaving permanently for Fenerbahce in 2015. During his time at Manchester United, the 38-year-old registered 40 goals 70 assists in 230 games.
Nani went on to play for Valencia, Lazio, Sporting CP, Orlando, Venezia, Adana Demirspor, and Melbourne before joining Estrela Amadora in July. Unfortunately, he has failed to make a mark there, as he has regustered one goal in nine appearances.
However, Nani has now decided to hang his boots, as he has struggled to keep up with the demands of top-flight football.
The Portuguese star won 17 titles in the course of his career, including the UEFA Champions League with Manchester United and the UEFA European Championship with Portugal.
Nani will also go down as one of the most capped Portuguese players, with 122 appearances under his belt.
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