Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha, commonly known as Nani was interviewed tonight after Sporting Lisbon’s 1-nil defeat to Chelsea, and he gave an “interesting” spin on his being back in the Portugese capital. Nani was sent on loan to Sporting by new Manchester United Manager Louis van Gaal in the summer. He had been with the club since 2007.
The member of the Portugal National team still has four years left on a contract he signed last year but he failed to make an impact under David Moyes at Old Trafford in 2013-14.
But Nani sees his time with his current club as only a short term situation, and he clearly hopes for a return to his parent club.
‘At the moment I’m a Manchester United player, I’m here to enjoy my football and get back to my best; then in the future we’ll see,’ Nani said.
He said something very similar during the summer transfer window when all the gossip was floating around.
‘I’m a United player but there has been some interest on my behalf,” Nani said then.
‘I will evaluate it and decide what is the most advantageous for me. A return to Portugal? Right now I don’t know.’
So it was up in the air for Nani then and it’s up in the air for Nani now.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and very often writes The Sports Bank.net ,which is partners with Fox Sports. Read his features stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks). His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN 2.