Nani Admits He Thought That Some of His Man Utd Teammates Disliked Him Upon 2007 Arrival
By Lee Bushe
Former Manchester United winger Nani has admitted that he felt three of Manchester United's senior players disliked him when he arrived at Old Trafford in 2007, revealing they sometimes went 'mad' at him during training.
The Portuguese international joined the Red Devils at the age of 20, winning four Premier League titles and a Champions League, among others, during a glittering seven-year spell at the club.
Since leaving permanently in 2015, Nani has embarked on something of a nomadic career, playing for five clubs in five different countries.
Now, in an interview for the UTD Podcast, Nani has told a series of anecdotes from his time at Manchester United, including how he felt that Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand had taken a dislike to him.
"It was so important for me to have Giggs, Scholes, Rio Ferdinand, because they were there every time, pushing me and saying things to me. I was not understanding what they were doing. I thought they didn't like me," he stated.
"They would just go, every time, go mad at me because things didn't go well but they saw a lot of potential in me in training and were believing a lot in me.
"After two or three years, I started realising a lot. It's one thing to listen but you try to do what they say."
Nani also revealed a more amusing anecdote about how Ferdinand encouraged him to do a rap at a Red Devils' Christmas party, saying: "We used to do celebrations because we never had a day off, our boss [Alex Ferguson] was a very hard person.
"At Christmas or someone's birthday, or Manchester United foundation galas, that was our opportunities to be together, drink a beer and sing.
"I remember a great moment at a Christmas party where I remember Scholes singing, drinking his beer. Then I had to sing as well and improvise something. I think sometimes I can rap a little bit and Rio was encouraging me to do that. I was doing it in English so imagine that. My English is horrible! They were laughing a lot, it was a great moment."