Former Manchester United winger Luis Nani has signed for A-League side Melbourne Victory in one of the biggest coups for Australian football in recent years.
The 35-year-old joins Melbourne Victory on a two-year deal following a stint at Italian club Venezia.
Very happy to have joined @gomvfc! Really looking forward to this new adventure in Australia and working hard to help the club win titles. Let's go! 💙#mvfc #MelbourneVictory #NewChallenge #Australia #Aleague #BigV pic.twitter.com/KJJ0lWOnDO
— Nani (@luisnani) July 12, 2022
“We’re proud to be able to recruit a player like Nani to our club and believe he will be an incredible asset for Melbourne Victory and the entire A-League,” head coach Tony Popovic said in a statement, as quoted by The Guardian.
“He has enjoyed an incredibly successful career at both club level and international level and we believe his quality and experience will be key in achieving our ambitions this season.”
Over a successful career, in which he won four Premier League titles, Nani earned 112 caps for Portugal. Some will say he lived in Cristiano Ronaldo’s shadow during his time at Old Trafford, but I’ve always found that harsh.
Nani improved his game after Ronaldo’s exit in 2009 and became an important player in Sir Alex Ferguson’s side. Now it can be argued that he is the biggest name to hit the A-League since Alessandro Del Piero in 2012.
“From what I have seen, the fans in Melbourne are not only the best in the league but they rival the atmosphere in Europe and I’m looking forward to being a part of that on the field in a Victory shirt and playing for them this season,” Nani said.
It remains to be seen if Nani will be ready to take on Melbourne Victory in Friday’s pre-season friendly, but we can expect him to be presented to the fans before kick-off at the AAMI Park stadium.
