Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha (born 17 November 1986 in Praia, Cape Verde), better known as Nani, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger. He currently plays for Manchester United.

-Club Carrier-

Early career

Nani was born in Cape Verde, but migrated with his family to Portugal at an early age. He grew up in the Amadora district of Lisbon, where he and Everton midfielder Manuel Fernandes, with whom he has been friends since childhood, would often kick a ball about together. Nani started his career in junior football at Real de Massamá before joining the youth setup at Sporting.

Sporting

Nani made his debut for the Sporting first team in the 2005-06 season, in which he made 32 appearances and scored five goals. In the 2006-07 season, he was again a regular, making 29 appearances for the first team and scoring five goals. He also played three games in the Portuguese Cup, which Sporting won, as well as six Champions League matches, scoring one goal.

Manchester United

In May 2007, Sporting and Manchester United agreed an undisclosed fee for Nani to sign for the Manchester club. The fee is believed to be in the region of £14m, the alleged value of the release clause in Nani’s contract. Tottenham Hotspur were also reported to have made a bid for the player. Real de Massamá received 5% of the transfer fee paid by Manchester United, which is approximately €1.25m. Nani passed his medical at United’s Carrington training ground on 6 June 2007, before being confirmed as a Manchester United player on 2 July. It was announced that Nani had signed a five-year contract with the club.

On 9 July, Nani was revealed to the press along with fellow newcomer Owen Hargreaves. He was handed the number 17 shirt for the 2007-08 season, the shirt previously worn by Henrik Larsson during his short spell at the club.

Nani scored on his debut in a pre-season friendly against Shenzhen FC, in which United ran out 6-0 winners. He also scored in the following game against Guangzhou Pharmaceutical with a chip off the right post from the left side of the penalty area. In order to protect his ankle from further injury, Sir Alex Ferguson has prohibited Nani from celebrating goals with his trademark somersault.

Nani made his competitive debut for Manchester United on 5 August 2007, coming on as a substitute in the Community Shield against Chelsea. He marked his debut with a trophy after the Red Devils won 3-0 on penalties, following a 1-1 draw in normal time. This was followed up with Nani’s third goal for the club three days later when he scored against Glentoran. The Portuguese youngster capitalised on Sir Alex Ferguson’s absence from the dugout by celebrating the goal with his trademark backflip.

Nani’s Premier League debut came in United’s opening match at home to Reading on 12 August as a substitute for Wayne Rooney, who had suffered a foot injury.

-International career-

Nani made his first appearance for Portugal on 1 September 2006, scoring on his début in a friendly against Denmark.

Nani was the youngest member of the Portugal team at the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, and was called up to the Portugal team again for the 2007 UEFA U-21 Championship.

source : wiki