NANI

"David Moyes had a small-club mentality and made many poor decisions. We needed a manager used to winning with big teams"

- Interview Dani Gil

When Sir Alex Ferguson signed Nani for Manchester United in 2007, the first thing he wanted to know was whether the young Portuguese winger had the mentality required to succeed in the Premier League.

“I don’t need to know if he's technically good - I take that for granted,” the legendary boss said.

Nani arrived from Sporting carrying the weight of a difficult upbringing. He'd been forced to grow up fast, after both parents abandoned him and his eight siblings. Aged five, his father went on holiday to Cape Verde and never came back. Aged 12, his mother left for the Netherlands. The children were instead raised by their aunt, when he picked up the nickname that has remained with him ever since - ‘Nani’ is an adaptation of the Portuguese word ‘nenem’, meaning ‘baby’ or ‘darling’.

Growing up on a tough estate in Amadora, on the outskirts of Lisbon, he had to learn how to sidestep crime and other bad influences, just as he learned to sidestep defenders. Dreaming of emulating his idol Luis Figo, Nani joined local club Real Massama, who helped him get an ID card and passport, which put him on a path that would lead to Champions League glory amid eight years at Old Trafford, as well as history with his country at Euro 2016. Now retired, the 39-year-old chats through the highs and lows of his career with FFT...

Your full name is Luis Carlos Almeida da Cunha, so where did the nickname ‘Nani’ come from?

Libby Mills, Stockport

It goes back to my childhood. I had an older sister who looked after me all the time. Sometimes she’d feed me and, while sharing out the food, she'd joke, “For you, for me... for Nani.” These little things stick, she kept calling me that all the time and, when I started going out and dancing, everyone called me Nani too. The name stayed with me.