Manchester United favourite Nani issues emotional statement and says 'the time has come'

Former Manchester United winger Nani has announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 38.

The Portuguese forward, who won the European Championships with his country, joined United in 2007 for a fee of £21m from Sporting. His arrival coincided with the arrival of his teammate Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford.

He would eventually leave Manchester in 2015 but not before making 230 appearances for the club, scoring 41 goals and grabbing 70 assists. While at United, he also won four Premier League titles, the Champions League, the Club World Cup, two Carabao Cups and four Community Shields.

READ MORE: Nani fires warning to United players

READ MORE: Nani has told United to give Amorim two things

After United, he moved to Fenerbahce and his career would take him all over the world, playing in the likes of Spain with Valencia, Italy with Lazio, USA with Orlando City before eventually returning to Portugal in the summer with Estrella Amadora. After featuring ten times for them and scoring one goal, Nani took to social media to announce his retirement and hinted at his future plans.

In his statement, he said: "As everyone knows, everything comes to an end. And, at this moment, I’ve taken the time to make a very important decision.

"Perhaps the most important decision of my professional life, which is the decision to stop playing as a professional player. I’m going to, as they say, hang up the boots.

"But I do so with a sense of duty fulfilled, mission accomplished - as an athlete, as a teammate, and as a professional. I believe it was a beautiful career, a career filled with many achievements.

"And for that reason, the time has come when it’s important to make this decision. The opportunties that have