Former Manchester United winger Nani has claimed that David Moyes broke a promise to him while he was in charge at Old Trafford.
The Portuguese forward joined the Red Devils from Sporting Lisbon in 2007 and was an important member of Sir Alex Ferguson’s side. Nani won four Premier League titles and won the Champions League during his first six years with Manchester United.
When Ferguson retired in 2013, Moyes took over as the Manchester United manager. He convinced Nani to stay, despite the winger claiming he was weighing up his options at the time.
The now Melbourne Victory player told Rio Ferdinand’s Vibe with Five podcast:
“He (Moyes) called me while I was on vacation and he said: ‘Hello Nani, I know your situation, I know you want to leave the club but you are so important for the club and at this time we will give you what you want. The respect, the importance, play more regular’.”
He added:
“I had a moment at United where I was wanting to play more regular and I was wanting to play much more games. I didn’t have a good time for a short time and I wanted to change the team.”
Nani added that Moyes promised him more game time and respect but didn’t keep his promise and shared an instance where he was taken off at half-time. He said:
“In that moment when Ferguson left and Moyes promised me something, I was very motivated to do so well in that year. I worked very hard in pre-season and when the season start, he started me in one game.”
He added:
“At half-time we were losing 1-0 and he took me (off). I said: ‘Huh, this is not possible, how could the manager promise this and make me sign a new contract, blah, blah, blah and then he do this. He takes me out when we are losing 1-0 and he is saying that I am the problem, I was so angry.”
Nani reveals Patrice Evra tried to cool down Manchester United feud with David Moyes
David Moyes’ time in charge of Manchester United was generally regarded as a disaster, as he lasted less than a year in the job.
Nani revealed that he was fuming with his boss following his lack of game time. His teammate at the time, Patrice Evra, tried to get the pair back onto the same page. The former Portugal international added:
“I was talking with Patrice Evra and he said: ‘No Nani, the manager likes you a lot’. Second time he played me again and he does the same so after that, that season went so wrong for me.”
