Former Manchester United star Nani has revealed the awkward moment he had to give Sir Alex Ferguson a lift home just hours after he’d missed a vital penalty for the Red Devils.
Back in 2010, Ryan Giggs was United’s designated penalty taker, but during a clash with Fulham Nani took it upon himself to take a spot-kick, which he missed after it was saved by the Cottagers David Stockdale.
The game ended in a 2-2 draw and saw Sir Alex’s men drop crucial points in the Premier League, but Nani’s day went from bad to worse after the game.
What followed was an awkward and deadly silent ride back home for the winger and his unhappy manager.
Nani has told the story of his car journey with Sir Alex Ferguson after his missed penalty
The winger took the penalty off Ryan Giggs and missed in the 2-2 draw with Fulham in 2010
Nani was charged with giving his unhappy boss a ride home from the train station
That day he was so mad at me!’ recalled Nani to The Mirror.
‘But he preferred to kill Giggs, because he had the ball and was the most experienced player on the field.
‘But because I was playing so well and I won the penalty, I wanted to score it. Giggs saw that and said “yeah, take it” – but then I missed!
When we went to the dressing-room, Sir Alex was shouting at Giggs, saying “Why did you do that?” and then said to me “Nani, you’ll never take penalties anymore”.
‘Then, when we got off the train, we had to go home, and because Sir Alex was living next to me, someone said “Can anyone give a ride to the boss?” and I said “I can, no problem”.
‘When we got in the car, we were not talking for one minute. I was waiting for him to say something to me but he didn’t.
‘Then I said “I’m sorry boss, for missing the penalty” and he said “No problem son – you could have hit it better, but it’s okay”.’
Nani joined United in 2007 and played 230 times for the club, scoring forty goals. He won four Premier League titles, three League Cups and the 2008 Champions League in a team, that he still keeps in touch with – they even have a WhatsApp group.
‘I’m still in contact with almost all of them,’ Nani added.
Sir Alex lived next door to Nani but luckily laid the blame on Giggs instead of the Portuguese
Nani (right) won four Premier League titles during a successful stint with the Red Devils
The Portuguese star is still playing, aged 37, for Turkish side Adana Demirspor in the Super Lig
‘We have a WhatsApp group, we talk, we laugh, we joke with each other, we continue to be the same group as before.
‘It’s like we haven’t grown up! But that’s the beautiful thing. The best part is that we don’t forget each other, we know how everyone is getting on and that’s something amazing.’
After leaving United in 2014, the forward who won 112 caps for his country, went back to Sporting before embarking on whistle-stop tour of the world.
He has spent time in Turkey, Spain, Italy, the MLS and Australia and is still plying his trade back in Turkey with Adana Demirspor aged 37.
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