Skipped meals to kick ball

Portuguese and Manchester United winger Nani has said that as a youngster growing up in Lisbon, he used to skip meals and go hungry to spend more time playing football.

“I didn’t go home to eat, because I wanted to play football. Every day, morning and afternoon, I was there in the ‘bairro’. I didn’t eat. I was so skinny. The most important thing for me was football,” News of The World quoted Nani, as saying.

“Sometimes I was hungry, but some friends would come with food and I’d take a little. I played on grass, on the street, everywhere. And, when we picked the teams I put the best players against me and the weaker ones with me, so I could play alone.”

“I told them: ‘You defend. I attack,’ and I passed the ball to no-one,” he added.

The 23-year-old further claims that after visiting Old Trafford and the club museum, during his stint with Sporting Lisbon, he always knew he would play for United.

“There’s a machine in the museum where you kick the ball to see who has the most power in their shot. I was very skinny, but I won that. No-one believed it,” Nani said.

“We went to the changing room and sat there so excited. ‘Giggsy sits here, Ronaldo here,’ unbelievable. I said: ‘My friend, one day we will play here.’ Three years later I’m here,” he added.