In a complete turnaround of perceptions, Nani has paid tribute to boss Sir Alex Ferguson for helping him turn his career around but insists he is not the new Cristiano Ronaldo. In an interview with The Sun Nani praised his manager and says his future lies at Old Trafford.
Portugal winger Nani has endured a difficult time at Manchester United since arriving in 2007 for £15million. He has largely been a bit-part player for the Red Devils and the 23-year-old was expected to be on his way through the exit door after his attack on Fergie. However, with some consistent performances this month, Nani has found himself back in the side.
His performance against Hull last week was brilliant and the one against City in the Carling Cup was good too. And Nani admits the turnaround is largely down to his manager who he says has been a positive influence.
The former Sporting Lisbon youngster told The Sun:
Week by week the coach has shown more and more confidence in me and that has really helped.
United is not a very easy place to recover your place in the first team because there is such a big squad and I had problems at the start of this season.
Injuries certainly damaged my performances and it was difficult. But Sir Alex was very clear with me - he spoke at length about what he expected and was always very positive. He changed my mentality and improved my morale over the past few months and now I think I am getting as much satisfaction from my performances as I ever had.
Nani was expected to be sold out during this transfer window but he insists his future lies at Old Trafford. He said, "Sir Alex never treated me with the exit door while I have always insisted that I could perform at my best for the club."
He added: "My future is at Manchester United. I've heard all the rumours but my mission is to stay and help the club win more titles."
I hope he produces another awesome performance against Arsenal today as the Red Devils travel to The Emirates Stadium where they haven't won since February 2005.
I hope he produces another awesome performance against Arsenal today as the Red Devils travel to The Emirates Stadium where they haven't won since February 2005.
