Nani claims he does not fear losing his place to Ashley Young and says sitting on the bench is “boring”. Nani welcomed Young’s £16million arrival at Manchester United from Aston Villa and claims the England winger will help the team win more trophies. The Portuguese winger is unfazed by the increase in competition among United’s widemen, after having to go up against Cristiano Ronaldo when he first came to Old Trafford.
“Of course I have to welcome everyone they sign,” he said. “I think Man United is a fantastic club and when they bring in new players, they know if it is good for the team or not, and Young has to help them.
“I was at United when Cristiano was there. Cristiano was one of the best players in the world, but I had no worries about him. “It’s good for the team. We want more good players to help us to win trophies.”Nani, 24, is confident about his first-team prospects because he produced his best-ever campaign for United last season.
He topped the assists chart with 18 and finished joint-top of the combined goals and assists table with 27 to earn the club’s Player of the Year accolade.
However, his form was not good enough to earn him a starting place in the Champions League Final defeat to Barcelona when he was replaced by Antonio Valencia. Nani was hurt by this snub and says watching the final from the bench at Wembley was “boring”.
He refused to criticise Sir Alex Ferguson for dropping him though, and admits his performance levels might have dipped because he was tired after a long season.
The former Sporting Lisbon star says he now feels refreshed after a month off and is ready to start pre-season training on Monday. “Last season I played more games than ever at Man United,” he said. “That’s why maybe in the last games I didn’t look the same as in the first games.
“It was boring not playing in the Champions League Final because you want to play - everyone wants to play. Finals are for playing, but the manager makes the decision. He knows who is better for the team and I have to respect that.
“Now I’m on holiday to rest and get my power back. At the start of the season I will be fine to start strong again, start to do what I know.”Nani did come on for the last 20 minutes of United’s 3-1 defeat and refuses to accept that Fergie’s side cannot beat Barca.
He claims United will begin the new season believing they can defeat Pep Guardiola’s side, despite losing two finals against them in three years. "They are the best team,” he said. “But they are not unbeatable.
"In a different game we could beat them, you never know. A game is a game and you never know what’s going to happen.”Nani has been amused during the break by Wayne Rooney’s admission on Twitter that he has had a hair transplant. He can’t wait to rib the England star when they meet up on Monday and says he will Tweet his verdict on Rooney's new barnet. “I will see and then after I will write something,” he smiled.
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