Nani (footballer)

Nani made his Portuguese Liga debut on 28 August, replacing Deivid in the 76th minute of a 1–2 victory over Marítimo at the Estádio dos Barreiros.

Nani scored his first Sporting goal on 30 October, opening the scoring in a 2–2 draw away to Boavista.

Nani ended the first season of his career with 5 goals from 36 appearances across all competitions.

Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha (born 17 November 1986), commonly known as Nani, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Süper Lig club Adana Demirspor.

Nani was born on 17 November 1986 in Amadora, Lisbon metropolitan area, Portugal, and is of Cape Verdean descent.

He was raised by his aunt Antónia on the Santa Filomena estate in Amadora after being abandoned by his parents.

At age five, his father left for a holiday in Cape Verde but never returned, and when he was 12 years old, his mother left Portugal to start a new life in the Netherlands.

Nani has nine siblings from his mother, of which he is the youngest, and five from his father.

Nani gained his nickname from an elder sister at a young age.

Nani's older brother taught him how to play football and he played with his childhood friend, midfielder Manuel Fernandes.

When Nani was around the age of 14, his older brother took him to train with Real Massamá.

They were Nani's first club and gave him money, food, and helped him obtain an ID card and a passport.

At the age of 16, Nani was training on alternate days with Sporting CP and Benfica.

Nani sometimes walked miles to and from practice before Sporting offered him pre-season training.

Despite growing up in Lisbon, Nani and his brother supported FC Porto as a boy and his footballing hero was Luís Figo.

Nani joined Sporting CP from his first club, Real Massamá.

Nani began his career with Sporting CP, joining the youth team in 2003 before making his first-team debut in 2005.

During his two-year tenure in Portugal he won the Portuguese Cup.

After two seasons in the youth team, where he won the National Junior Championship in 2004–05, Nani was promoted to the first team early in the 2005–06 season.

On 10 August 2005, he made his Sporting CP debut, coming on as a substitute for Custódio in the 73rd minute in a 1–0 home defeat to Udinese in their third-round qualifier in the UEFA Champions League.

Nani made his Portugal international debut in 2006, scoring his first goal soon after and establishing himself as a key member of the side.

Nani first came into the spotlight after scoring in the UEFA Champions League against Spartak Moscow, scoring Sporting's goal in a 1–1 group stage match on 27 September 2006.

Before the 2007–08 season, Nani's performances attracted the attention of English club Manchester United, who secured his services in July 2007.

He gained first-team status almost immediately and won four Premier League titles, two League Cups, three FA Community Shields, the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Champions League with them.

Nani helped Sporting win the 2006–07 Taça de Portugal, lifting the trophy after a 1–0 win over Belenenses on 27 May 2007 in the final.

He was then named as the SJPF Young Player of the Month for May 2007.

Nani's second season with Sporting ended with similar league statistics, with 40 appearances and 6 goals in all competitions.

Nani was sold to Manchester United for €25.5 million, five percent of which was paid to Real Massamá, his first professional club.

He passed his medical on 6 June 2007, and signed a five-year contract one month later, joining Portuguese compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo, with whom he lived at the start of his Manchester United career.

Nani scored on his debut in a pre-season friendly against Shenzhen, scoring the third in a 6–0 win.

He also scored in the following match against Guangzhou Pharmaceutical with a chip off the right post from the left side of the penalty area in a 3–0 win.

On 5 August 2007, Nani made his competitive debut for United, coming on as a substitute in the Community Shield against Chelsea.

He marked his debut with a trophy after they won 3–0 on penalties, following a 1–1 draw during normal time.

This was followed up by Nani's third goal for the club three days later, when he scored against Glentoran in another 3–0 pre-season win.

He represented his country at three European Championships, in 2008, 2012 and 2016, as well as in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Following a loan back to Sporting, in which he won a second Portuguese Cup, he was signed by Turkish side Fenerbahçe in 2015, and a year later he signed for Valencia in Spain.

Nani started in the final of Euro 2016, and after Cristiano Ronaldo got injured, captained the team to victory.

He made 112 appearances and scored 24 goals for his country in total.

He rejoined Sporting in 2018, winning a third Portuguese Cup as well as the Portuguese League Cup for the first time, before moving to Major League Soccer side Orlando City, whom he captained for three seasons before leaving at the end of 2021.

In January 2022, he moved to Venezia in Italy.