Portugal and Al-Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo has often made headlines for wearing his heart on his sleeve, having shed tears in both jubilation and heartbreak. His former teammate Nani has now shed light on the origin of his particular trait.
Nani Opens Up on Early Years With Cristiano Ronaldo
During a recent interview with FourFourTwo, former Portugal and Manchester United winger Nani revealed he joined Sporting CP over Benfica in July 2003 because of Ronaldo.
“Both clubs invited me to do pre-season, and at first I said yes to both. It was crazy. In the end, I chose Sporting because I had a friend there… and, to be honest, it was also the club I liked the most. At the time, we didn’t think much about any of that, we simply played and enjoyed ourselves,” the 39-year-old FC Aktobe player commented.
Nani, who joined his Kazakh team on a Bosman move last month, played alongside Ronaldo in Sporting’s academy for a few weeks before the latter joined Manchester United. He then moved to the Red Devils in July 2007 to reunite with his childhood friend.
Opining on his time with Ronaldo as a youth player, Nani stated, “We had the ambition and the dream that one day we might become professionals but we also knew until you actually get there, it’s little more than an illusion. In the end, everything happened very fast.”
Between 2007 and 2009, Nani and Ronaldo shared the pitch 55 times at the Red Devils. He combined with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who joined Real Madrid in 2009, to register four goal involvements at the Old Trafford outfit.
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Nani, who played alongside the Al-Nassr star 76 times for Portugal, insisted, “Opportunities came and we didn’t let them slip away. That spirit of sacrifice we both had at such a young age was key. Even as a kid, he already stood out above everyone else.”
Providing insight into the 41-year-old striker’s mentality, Nani added, “He lived football with enormous passion… if he didn’t win or things didn’t go well, he’d cry. That showed just how committed he was and the intensity with which he lived the game.”
Meanwhile, Ronaldo recently returned to action for Al-Nassr after ending his boycott, which began due to his unhappiness over a lack of funding for his team. He scored one goal in his side’s 2-0 away league victory against Al-Fateh on Saturday, Feb. 14.
