Former Man Utd star Nani, 37, takes first steps into future career after buying CLUB before he retires from football
Manchester United idol Nani plans to swap the boot room for the boardroom – after buying a fourth-division club near his home town.
The Portugal winger is close to retirement, and left Turkish side Adana Demirspor in May.
Nani, 37, has now bought a 95 per cent stake in SU Sintrense together with a group of investors.
The club is based at Sintra, north-west of Lisbon and close to his birthplace Amadora.
Sintrense, founded 112 years ago, play in the fourth-tier Campeonato de Portugal.
However their ambitious new owners plan to invest heavily to get them into the Primeira Liga.
Nani said: “I am very happy to be part of this project. I hope to add value to the club.
“Sintrense are an opportunity for me to do something interesting.
“It is very important for me that they are close to the area where I grew up. I hope it will be a successful project.”
Nani also declared his intention to extend his playing career.
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“I have offers from clubs in Portugal and abroad,” he added. “But for now I’m going to enjoy my holidays.”
New Sintrense president Ricardo Oliveira declared: “This is a very ambitious plan to take the club into the Primeira Liga, and we won’t stop till we get there.”
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“We will invest heavily. If we get into the third division next year we’ll build new stands and improve the floodlighting straight away.”
Nani won four Premier League titles, the Champions League, two League Cups and a Club World Cup with United.
The 112-cap ace left for Fenerbahce in 2015, and has had two spells back at former club Sporting Lisbon.
Much-travelled Nani has also played for clubs in Spain, Italy, the USA and Australia.