Luis Carlos Almeida da Cunha, commonly known as Nani, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Turkish club Fenerbahce and the Portugal national team. Although predominantly right-footed, he has been utilised on the left wing on many occasions.
In the early stages of his career at Manchester United, Nani often invited comparison in playing style and ability with club and international colleague Cristiano Ronaldo, for whom he often deputised at club level. In Ronaldo's absence, however, Nani's style has developed into a more classical winger's style, able to play on both wings though more comfortable on the right, utilising pace, ball control and trickery to create space. While capable of cutting off both wings to strike at goal from distance, Nani has substantially fewer goals, yet a substantially higher proportion of assists than his former colleague. He can also play in the more attacking position of forward or wing forward.
In 2005, he made his professional debut with Sporting and won the Portuguese Cup during his second season with them. Nani was named the SJPF Young Player of the Month for May 2007 and his performances with Sporting culminated into a move to English club Manchester United in July 2007 for a fee of €25 million. Nani won the Community Shield on his competitive debut at Manchester United and since added a number of trophies, which included the Premier League and Champions League during his debut season at the club. He has established himself as first-choice winger at United and has won a further three Premier League titles, the Football League Cup, one FIFA Club World Cup, and three Community Shield titles. Individually, Nani has been included in the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Premier League Team of the Year on one occasion and was a nominee for the PFA Young Player of the Year in 2011. Following a loan back to Sporting, in which he won the Taca de Portugal, he was signed for ￡4.25 million by Fenerbahce in July 2015.
Nani is also a Portugal international. Prior to playing at senior level, he played at under-21 level. He made his senior international debut in September 2006 in a friendly match against Denmark and scored his first international goal during the 4–2 defeat in Copenhagen. Nani has represented his country at two major tournaments, the 2008 and 2012 European Championships. Since his debut, he has made 91 appearances and scored 16 goals for Portugal, making him their fifth most capped player of all time.
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