UNITED boss Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted he would have liked Nani to spend one more year in Portugal before his move to United.
Nani, along with fellow new signing Owen Hargreaves, were officially unveiled at United's Carrington headquarters on Monday lunchtime.
While the capture of Hargreaves from Bayern Munich represents the end of a 12 month chase, Nani's journey to Old Trafford has taken place a year ahead of schedule, with Ferguson forced to move quickly for the Portugal Under-21 star who, like Cristiano Ronaldo, developed a big reputation at Sporting Lisbon.
"We have been monitoring Nani for almost as long as Cristiano," said Ferguson.
"In a perfect world, he would have stayed in Portugal for another year but circumstances forced us into action.
"He is different to Cristiano in that he can play on both sides of the pitch but also in the middle. He is quick, has a terrific engine and I know we are getting a very talented, flexible player."
Dead_Man_Inc
means nani will be loan out?
zocoss
Nani is the new 17...
omgukilledkenny
Originally posted by Dead_Man_Inc:
means nani will be loan out?
haha,i dont think Fergie will loan out a 17mil pound player.
iceFatboy
I think anderson and nani will be played selectively to fit into EPL. even ronaldo despite performing in bolton was carefully nurtured..
I expect the same for them, but not for OwenH. He will be the one with the biggest weight on his shoulder to perform.