It won’t be much longer, and Nani will be gone. The Portuguese winger hasn’t been in the plans for Manchester United for quite some time, and after some unpleasant times between the sides, the next couple of weeks might see his departure from Old Trafford, with Monaco, Napoli and Galatasaray all interested in signing him.
Nani could have been somewhat of a poor man’s Cristiano Ronaldo, but his ability late in the 2011-2012 campaign and in the entire 2012-2013 season was enough for Alex Ferguson and Manchester United to decide he isn’t going to be with the club for much longer, not to mention his outrageous contract demands from the club or from anyone trying to sign him.
But with his contract up in 2014, United will push a lot harder to sell Nani this summer. David Moyes might be willing to change his mind about the player, but Nani himself doesn’t really feel like he wants to stay, announcing he will let his decision be known in the next couple of days, with everyone guessing it’ll be a decision to leave the club, and move another step in the negotiations towards an exit.
The first match of the 2012-2013 season was enough for Ferguson to decide Nani isn’t up for the challenge this season, putting on an awful, selfish performance against Everton to start the season. From there on out it was mostly sporadic appearances in the lineup, whenever Ferguson didn’t have a choice. When he had his big moment to shine, Nani got a red card against Real Madrid, and missed out on his last opportunity to find himself a more consistent spot in the lineup.
There won’t be any problem finding a club willing to pay above £10 million for Nani, although his contract will hurt the selling fee United were hoping to get for him last season when they were on the verge of selling him to Zenit, but Nani torpedoed the transfer, demanding £190,000 per week from the Russian club. Monaco can virtually pay anything, while Napoli and Galatasaray have it within their financial ability to make one big signing this summer, if not more.
After six season with the club, which include four league titles and one Champions League trophy, the Portuguese international, with 40 goals in 212 matches for United, is probably going to wear a different jersey by the time next season begins.