Nani retires from Professional Football

Former Manchester United and Portugal winger Nani has retired from professional football.

Nani, 38, had been playing for hometown club Estrela Amadora in the Portuguese top flight this season.

His final game came at his first club Sporting on 1 November.

“The time has come to say goodbye, I have decided to finish my career as a professional player,” he wrote on social media.

“It’s been an amazing ride and I wanted to thank every single person who has helped me and supported me through the highs and lows during a career which lasted over 20 years and gave me so many unforgettable memories.

“Time to turn a new leaf and focus on new goals and dreams.”

Nani joined United from Sporting for about £21m in June 2007 and went on to play 230 times for the club, scoring 41 goals.

He won the Champions League in his first season at United, plus four Premier League titles and two League Cups in eight seasons.

His standout campaign with United was 2010-11 when he was named the club’s players’ player of the year, named in the PFA’s Premier League team of the year, and his 14 league assists were more than anybody else.

He went back on loan to Sporting in 2014-15 before leaving United permanently for Fenerbache the following season.

He also played for Valencia, Lazio, Sporting a third time, Orlando City, Venezia, Melbourne Victory, Adana Demirspor and finally Estrela Amadora.

At international level, Nani scored 24 goals in 112 caps – and won Euro 2016