Nani Biography

Luis Carlos Almeida da Cunha (born November 17, 1986), best known by his nickname Nani, is a Portuguese professional footballer who currently represents Orlando City SC in Major League Soccer as a winger and captain. He has played over 100 times for the senior national team and has represented Portugal in international football.

Everything you need to know about Nani Biography

Nani is of Cape Verdean descent and was born in Amadora, Portugal. He started his football career with Real Massamá, a local team. He started training with Sporting CP and S.L. Benfica on alternating days when he was nine years old, ultimately joining Sporting's youth squad after being given pre-season training.

Nani made his professional debut with the club in 2005, and during his second season with them, he won the Taça de Portugal. Nani was appointed the SJPF Young Player of the Month in May 2007, and his achievements with Sporting earned him a €25 million transfer to

in July 2007.

Nani won the Community Shield on his competitive debut for Manchester United and went on to win a host of trophies during his first season at the club, including the Premier League and Champions League. At United, he established himself as a first-choice winger, winning three Premier League titles, the Football League Cup, one FIFA Club World Cup, and three Community Shield titles in the process.

Nani was a candidate for the PFA Young Player of the Year in 2011 and was named to the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Premier League Team of the Year on one occasion. Following a loan spell with Sporting, during which he won the Taça de Portugal, he was signed by Fenerbahçe for £4.25 million in July 2015, and a year later by Valencia. In July 2018, he returned to Sporting CP.

Nani is a Portugal international as well. After beginning his career at the under-21 level, he made his senior Portugal debut in a friendly match against Denmark in September 2006, scoring his first goal in the 4–2 defeat in Copenhagen.

Nani has played in four major tournaments for his nation, including three European Championships (2008, 2012, and 2016), where he reached the semi-finals of Euro 2012 and won Euro 2016; he also represented Portugal at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He has made over 100 international appearances and scored 24 goals since his debut.

Nani information

Sportmob's article on 

Nani biography

 will start with some general information about Nani physical stats and football information.

Nani bio

• Full Name:

  Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha

• Nickname

  : Nani

Personal information

• Nani Date of Birth: 

  17 November 1986

• place of birth: 

  Amadora, Lisbon, Portugal

• Age in 2021:

  34

• Nani Religion:

   Christianity

• Nani Nationality: 

  Portuguese

• Zodiac Sign: 

  Scorpio

• Facebook:

  Nani

• Instagram:

  @luisnani

• Twitter:

  @luisnani

Physical Stats

• Foot:

  Both

• Hand:

  Right

• Height:

  175 cm

• Weight:

  66 kg

Family information

• His Father : 

  Domingos Antonio Cunha David

• His Mother :

   Maria do Ceu Almeida

• Marital status:

   Married

• His wife:

  Daniela Martins

• His children:

  Lucas da Cunha

Football Information

• Position:

  Winger

• Teams:

  Sporting CP, Manchester United, Fenerbahçe, Valencia, Lazio, Orlando City

Favorites

• Favorite food:

  Coq au vin, Cassoulet, Boeuf bourguignon

• Favorite drinks:

   Cold Brew, Hot Chocolate

• Favorite Superhero:

   Pele

• Favorite sports:

   Soccer, football, American Football, volleyball

• Favorite Musician/Music:

   Gérard Souza

• Favorite Footballers:

   Maradona, Ronaldinho, Leo Messi

• Favorite color:

   Red

• Favorite Digit:

  17

• Favorite Pet:

   Cat, Dog

Nani early life

In this part of our article on Nani biography, we will review some facts about 

Nani childhood

 and family facts, from his early days to the time he became famous. Football fans know about Nani's abilities, but few consider his bio, which is quite interesting.

Nani is of Cape Verdean descent and was born in the Amadora district of Lisbon, Portugal. After his parents abandoned him, he was raised by his aunt Antónia on the Santa Filomena estate in Amadora. His father left for a vacation in Cape Verde when he was five years old and never returned, and his mother left Portugal when he was twelve years old to start a new life in the Netherlands.

Nani has nine siblings from his mother, the youngest of whom he is, and five siblings from his father. Nani got his nickname from an older sister when he was young.

Nani learned to play football from his older brother, and he used to play with his childhood friend, midfielder Manuel Fernandes. Nani's older brother took him to train with Real Massamá when he was about 14 years old.

Nani's first club provided him with money, food, and assistance in obtaining an ID card and a passport. Nani began working with

and Benfica on alternating days when he was 16 years old. Until Sporting offered him pre-season training, Nani walked miles to and from practice. Nani and his brother loved FC Porto as a child despite growing up in Lisbon, and his footballing hero was Luís Figo.

Stay tuned to read more of Nani biography.

Nani profile

Luís Nani was born in a town on the island of Cape Verde. His family later moved to Portugal, settling near Lisbon. The boy had a passion for football since he was a child, and he would spend all day kicking the ball around with his mate, who went on to become a professional footballer himself.

Nani made his first appearance for Sporting Lisbon in 2005/2006. He proved to be a gifted and excellent player who could set up a perfect situation for a teammate and take a spectacular free-kick. Nani is primarily a central midfielder, but he can also play as a winger or striker.

He's known for his quickness, dribbling prowess, and talent. Nani's attributes were discovered by a Manchester United scout, and he was signed for €25 million by the ‘Red Devils' in 2007.

Even in his first games for the club, the player began to put in a high-level output, scoring and assisting on a regular basis. Nani was a part of the historic 2008 Champions League Final, in which Man Utd beat Chelsea to win the trophy, and the Portuguese footballer was awarded the tournament's gold medal.

Despite his talent and skill, Nani was unable to make an impact because

was the club's star at the time. Competing in mastery with him was a tedious job.

He excels as a center midfielder, always finding the back of the net and assisting his teammates. Nani's playing style is similar to Ronaldo's in that he has high-speed quality dribbling, can make a considered and impressive pass or an effective fake move, and can score from long range.

Nani, along with Wayne Rooney, became one of the team's backbone players after Cristiano transferred to his new club. The player's contract was extended until 2014 as a result of this fact. Furthermore, Luís Nani has been capped for the Portugal national team since 2006, but he is unable to take the lead in the team due to C. Ronaldo's ability. Despite their rivalry, Nani and his former teammate maintain friendly ties.

Stay tuned now in this section of Nani biography because we want to share some information about his playing style.

Style of play

Nani's talent and playing style drew comparisons to a club and international teammate Cristiano Ronaldo in the early stages of his career at Manchester United, but Nani's style evolved into more of a conventional winger than Ronaldo's transformation into a center forward.

can play on both wings, but he prefers the right, where he has been known to use his speed, as well as intricate dribbling skills and trickery, to build a room in large areas and provide crosses for teammates.

Nani scores fewer goals but provides a significantly higher proportion of assists than his compatriot Ronaldo, despite being capable of cutting inside from either wing to strike at goal from distance.

He can play a number of additional roles as a forward as a result of his powerful attacking abilities, including inverted winger on the left, second striker, or even in a more central position as the main striker, as he has done frequently for Portugal.

Stay tuned to read more of

Nani life story

.

Reception

The winger has maintained his good boy image in football, both on and off the field. But, since winning or striking can make you do strange things, he has one of the most contentious goals to his credit, which he scored against

during the 2010-11 season. The controversial goal came in the 84th minute of the match, giving the Red Devils a 2-0 win.

Nani, who has identified himself as one of the game's biggest stars, found himself in the news after parking his car in a disabled bay in Wilmslow, Cheshire. The location where the united winger parked his car with the words "Disabled Badge Holders Only" written on it.

Because of his uncanny similarity to Michael Jackson, one of the inane controversies surrounding Nani's name is that he is the biological son of the legendary singer. The eerie similarity between Nani and Jackson was something eye-opening for football fans out there, so this nonsense controversy went viral.

Goal celebration

As a winger, Nani has scored about 145 goals so far during his club career and national, and although he doesn't have a trademark goal celebration, we have seen him celebrate his goals very differently. One point to remember about the goals celebrations of Nani is that, along with his teammates, he always likes to celebrate his goals.

Nani outside football

Nani manages time even out of his tight schedule for his family, especially his son Lucas as he wants to keep him up with something that he missed while growing up back in Amadora slum district.

Nani personal life

Now we want to read about Nani life story. Are you ready?

Luis Nani, who had a difficult childhood and a difficult career since emerging from a crime-ridden slum area, has little to look forward to when it comes to dating or making love. It's impossible to take the former Red Devils star's pride away from her, who is perfectly content with the moniker of one-woman-man.

Daniela Martins is the only woman you can see wrapping Nani up, and if the rumours are to be believed, Nani has been dating Daniela since 2008. In 2012, the lovebirds finally got their much-needed break.

Family, children and relationships

Daniela Martins is the only name you'll see here, as the Orlando City star has maintained his undying love for the lady from Lisbon, Portugal. The fact that Daniela and Nani first met in 2007-08 after the right winger went on to serve Manchester United adds to the story's appeal.

Daniela Martin, who was born in Portugal, moved to London when she was eight years old. At the tender age of 14, the Portuguese beauty won the Miss Portugal beauty pageant. Daniela later receives numerous awards for her beauty and intelligence, including the Miss Latin title in England.

Daniela, Nani's wife, has a bachelor's degree in journalism from London as well. One thing to keep in mind is that Nani and Daniela prefer to keep their personal lives hidden from prying eyes.

Nani and Daniela welcomed a son named Lucas da Cunha into their family. Despite Nani's desire to keep his personal life out of the spotlight, his son Lucas was on the ground celebrating with him after Portugal's Euro 2016 victory over Croatia.

Philanthropy

Humanitarian service is a very rewarding task in which the bulk of footballers work, but the public does not notice this humanitarian work either. Nani hasn't done or said anything in the media yet, and we have to wait and see if he's going to do any humanitarian service.

Legal issues

While some footballers at various levels have certainly had legal problems, Nani has never had a legal dispute in his lifetime.

Stay tuned to read more of

Nani biography

.

Nani Career statistics

During his professional career, Nani has featured for six teams already. We want to hear more about these 6 teams now in the Nani biography.

Club

The first team he played in was Sporting CP and now we want to know about it.

Sporting CP

Nani moved to Sporting CP from Real Massamá, his first club. Nani was promoted to the first team early in the 2005–06 season after two seasons with the youth team, where he won the National Junior Championship in 2004–05. He made his Sporting debut in a 1–0 home loss to Udinese in their UEFA Champions League third-round qualifier on 10 August 2005, coming on as a substitute for Custódio in the 73rd minute.

Nani aided Sporting to success in the 2006–07 Taça de Portugal, lifting the trophy on May 27, 2007, after a 1–0 win over Belenenses in the final. In May 2007, he was named the SJPF Young Player of the Month. Nani's second season with Sporting ended with 40 appearances and six goals in all competitions, compared to his first.

Manchester United

Nani was sold to Manchester United for €25.5 million, with 5% of the proceeds going to his first professional club, Real Massamá. On June 6, 2007, he passed his medical and signed a five-year deal with Manchester United, joining compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo, with whom he shared an apartment at the start of his Manchester United career.

Nani made his debut against Shenzhen in a pre-season friendly, scoring the third goal in a 6–0 win.

Nani made his Premier League debut on August 12 against Reading at Old Trafford as a replacement for Wayne Rooney, who had sustained a foot injury. Nani scored his first competitive goal for United two weeks later, against Tottenham Hotspur, with a 30-yard goal in the 69th minute.

Nani came on as a replacement for

in the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final, in which United won 6–5 on penalties after a 1–1 tie after extra time. In the shootout, Nani took and scored Manchester United's critical fifth penalty.

Following Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Real Madrid in the 2009 close season, Nani was expected to step up from his position as a bit player and replace his compatriot. Nani made his first appearance for United in the 2009 FA Community Shield, scoring in the tenth minute, but United lost the match on penalties after a 2–2 draw.

Nani scored a controversial second goal as United defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2–0 at Old Trafford on October 30. After Tottenham goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes rolled the ball out to take a free-kick he thought had been granted for handball, he scored into an empty net; however, the play continued because referee Mark Clattenburg did not blow his whistle. On November 27, Nani scored United's fifth goal in a 7–1 home match over Blackburn Rovers.

Nani's deal with Manchester United was extended on September 5, 2013, keeping him at the club until 2018. In the League Cup, he started his first match of the 2013–14 season against Liverpool. Despite this, Nani spent the majority of the season battling injury and attempting to regain form. During the season, he only scored once.

Loan return to Sporting CP

Nani returned to Sporting CP on a season-long loan from Manchester United on August 19, 2014, as part of a deal that took center-back Marcos Rojo to United. Nani was given the shirt with the number 77 on it.

Nani made his return four days after signing at the Estádio José Alvalade in a Primeira Liga match against Arouca. He missed a penalty, got a yellow card, and was replaced in the 77th minute as Sporting won the match 1–0.

On September 17, he scored his first goal of the loan in a 1–1 draw at Maribor in the first match of the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League group stage. In addition, he received the Man of the Match award. On 3 January 2015, Nani was sent off for two bookings in a 3–0 win over

, four days after scoring his first league goal for the club in a 4–0 win over Gil Vicente. Nani scored in Sporting's 2015 Taça de Portugal final penalty shootout win over Braga, which was the club's first trophy since 2008.

Fenerbahçe

Nani joined Fenerbahçe in Turkey on 6 July 2015, signing a three-year contract worth £4.25 million. Nani and his former United teammate Robin van Persie made their Champions League debuts 22 days later, in a goalless home draw against Shakhtar Donetsk in the third qualifying round of the season. On August 30, he scored two goals against Antalyaspor, including the game-winner, a free-kick in second-half stoppage time.

Valencia

Nani signed a three-year deal with

in July 2016, with Valencia paying an undisclosed fee – estimated to be £7.2 million – to complete the move.

Loan to Lazio

Nani was signed on a season-long loan deal by Lazio on August 31, 2017. On October 29, he scored his first goal for

, the game-winning goal in a 5–1 away victory over Benevento.

Return to Sporting CP

On July 11, 2018, Sporting CP announced Nani's return to the club.

Orlando City

Nani signed a three-year Designated Player extension with

on February 18, 2019. Nani made his Orlando City FC debut on March 2nd, coming on as a 70th-minute replacement in the team's home opener against New York City FC, which ended in a 2–2 draw, with Nani assisting Dom Dwyer's equalizer.

On April 6, 2019, he scored his first goals for the team in a 4–3 home win over the Colorado Rapids, including the game-winning penalty in the 89th minute.

In the quarter-finals of the MLS is Back Tournament on July 31, 2020, he missed a penalty in regulation time against Los Angeles FC, but later assisted the last-minute equalizer and scored the winning penalty in an extra time shootout. Orlando City ultimately finished second in the tournament, losing in the final to Portland Timbers.

International

Nani was the youngest member of

squad at the 2006 UEFA Under-21 Championship, making his debut in a 0–1 loss to France U21 on May 23, 2006. Before Portugal's group stage exit, he played in all three matches, scoring no goals.

He made four appearances during the 2007 European Under-21 Football Championship, scoring one goal in a 4–0 win over Israel U21 in a group stage match on June 16, 2007, and having to be taken off during the match due to a right ankle injury.

Nani was a regular member of Portugal's Euro 2008 qualifying team, scoring one of the goals in a 2–1 away win over Belgium on June 2, 2007.

Nani scored his fourth international goal in Portugal's final friendly match before the start of their World Cup qualifying campaign, a 5–0 win over the Faroe Islands on August 20, 2008. On September 6, Nani scored the game-winning goal in a 4–0 victory over Malta as Portugal began qualification for the 2010 World Cup. Four days later, he scored the first goal in a 3–2 home loss to Denmark.

Paulo Bento's first game in charge of Portugal, a 3–1 win over Denmark in a Euro 2012 qualifying match on October 8, 2010, saw Nani scored twice and assisted once. In a 5–3 win over Iceland on October 7, 2011, Nani scored twice and set up another.

Nani made his World Cup debut for Portugal against

in the tournament's opening match.

Nani was given the captain's armband in the final against host-nation France on 10 July after

was forced off after a challenge from Dimitri Payet in the first 25 minutes of the match. Portugal won 1–0 in extra-time thanks to a goal by substitute Eder in the 109th minute.

He was named in Portugal's preliminary 35-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia in May 2018, but he was not selected for the final 23.

Nani honors

Sporting CP

• Taça de Portugal: 

  2006–07, 2014–15, 2018–19

• Taça da Liga:

   2018–19

Manchester United

• Premier League:

   2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13

• Football League Cup: 

  2008–09, 2009–10

• FA Community Shield: 

  2007, 2008, 2010, 2011

• UEFA Champions League: 

  2007–08

• FIFA Club World Cup:

   2008

Portugal

• UEFA European Championship:

   2016

Individual

• SJPF Young Player of the Month: 

  May 2007

• PFA Team of the Year: 

  2010–11 Premier League

• Manchester United Players' Player of the Year: 

  2010–11

• SJPF Player of the Month: 

  October/November 2014

• Sporting CP Footballer of the Year:

  2015

• MLS All-Star: 

  2019

Orders

• Commander of the Order of Merit:

  2016

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