After spending the last season on loan with Sporting Lisbon, Nani's tenure at Manchester United has finally come to an end. The Portugal international has reportedly finalised a three-year deal worth £4.25m to join Turkish giants Fenerbahce, putting an end to what was once considered a promising career at Old Trafford.
Nani scored 11 goals in 37 matches for Sporting last season but that wasn't enough to convince Louis van Gaal and the manager declared him expendable ahead of the 2015-2016 season. Fenerbahce didn't waste time and they have snapped the 28-year-old talented winger as he would give the team an immense boost in terms of quality and possibly revenue since he's a worldwide known player who can thrive in a lesser league like the Turkish Super Lig.
The departure of Nani was quite expected, however, when considering the team's depth on the wings. Aside from established players like Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia and Juan Mata, Louis van Gaal also has youngster Adnan Januzaj, newcomer Memphis Depay and he can always move Wayne Rooney or even Andreas Pereira to a wing role if needed. Considering the team has several options to choose from, Nani didn't have a place in the squad anymore and considering he was quite good for Sporting last year, Manchester United took the chance to get some value off him while he still had some.
Looking back at Nani's time with the team
Nani initially joined United from Sporting Lisbon ahead of the 2007-08 season as he was viewed as both a complement and a possible second coming of Cristiano Ronaldo. Even though he always dealt with uneven performances, he was always considered a talented player that was capable of creating magic out of nothing.
Nani's numbers at Old Trafford are decent as he scored 40 goals in 229 appeareances across all competitions on a seven-year span. However, he spent plenty of times on the shadows when Ronaldo was still on the squad and when he had the chance to shine, he wasn't up to the standards the team required. Often considered a selfish player, Nani was very inconsistent and alternated brilliant performances with really poor ones and when he was sent out on loan last season to Sporting it was known the writing was on the wall for him.
When the 2015-16 season starts, Nani's backflip and his incredible ability will now thrive in the Turkish Super Lig where he will have another chance to reach the heights he was never able to conquer at Old Trafford.