Luis Nani has retired.

Those who came to football later may not have caught up with him, but those who did will know him well. Nani is a player of unrivalled quality, capable of doing amazing things, full of poison. And those who did know that he was not what he should have been and that it was because of him that he was not.

Nani joined United in 2007. The 2007-08 season was the season when United won the Champions League. He was another signing from Sporting after Ronaldo arrived at United in 2003. When United signed Nani, expectations were high. At the time, they paid €25.5m. In comparison, United paid €12m for Ronaldo.

After Ronaldo joined United in 2003, Nani, who had been playing for Sporting's youth team, was signed by Sporting in the 2004-05 season. Like Ronaldo, he was a player with tricks, tricks and speed. But the problem was that he didn't understand what Ronaldo understood.

Ronaldo, who had a lot of potential when he first arrived at United, was still playing with beauty, tricks and passes because he didn't understand them. He was still young and strong. But later, Ronaldo gradually changed his style of play to be more direct and goal-scoring. When Ronaldo realized that beauty and tricks didn't win the team trophies and titles, nor did they win him individual medals and records, they increased dramatically. Although the tricks were still beautiful, Ronaldo was more focused on efficiency.

Nani has a similar problem. Having a problem doesn't mean having that quality is bad. It's good. That's the strange thing about the world sometimes. Weaknesses can be good, but strengths can be problems. Players with great passing, dribbling, dribbling skills are often ruined by the lack of use and display of those skills. Nani had to learn this too. He may have come to understand later, but not as well as Ronaldo.

Nani didn't score many goals for United, but many of them were beautiful long-range goals. They matched his style of celebrating with a beautiful shot. Some of his goals were crazy goals, and some were close-range goals.

The goal that was scored against Manchester City with Rooney and Cleaver was a highlight. The last-minute goal against Manchester City, the goal he scored with his back foot against Bayern Munich, are all notable. But another obstacle that has held Nani back is his poor footwork. He can be terrifying in one game, with his long shots and crosses so precise, but then he disappears the next. In some games, he is so selfish and reckless that he can get the strikers to get frustrated and get substituted. He understands that he will only do what is effective and beneficial, but he is not careful to follow through. He is always throwing the ball away without realizing that he is wasting it. This is what has limited his ability to reach the next level.

This lack of awareness, poor footwork and his tendency to think things through has led him to be on the same level as Ronaldo, Arjen Robben, He was far behind the likes of Ribery. He was a man who, by his nature, should have been better. But with four Premier League titles, two League Cups (now Carabao Cups), one Champions League, one Club World Cup and one Euro with Portugal, Nani's record is unassailable.

He played for Fenerbahce, Valencia, Lazio, Sporting, Orlando City, Venezia, Melbourne Victory, Arda Demispor and Amadora before retiring. Nani, whose real name is Luis Carlos Almeida da Cunha, will be remembered by the football world for his winning style.

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