Nani explains why he snubbed Arsenal and Real Madrid for Man Utd transfer

Nani has revealed why he rejected the chance to join Arsenal and instead sign for Manchester United in 2007.

Portuguese winger Nani won four Premier League titles and the Champions League in seven seasons with United.

But it could have been a different story, as the 33-year-old claims Arsenal, Chelsea and even Real Madrid were all keen on him.

Nani was playing for Sporting Lisbon in his homeland when Europe's top clubs became interested in him.

And it was the desire to follow a similar path as his compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo that ultimately led to Nani snubbing the Gunners.

Ronaldo had joined United from Sporting four years earlier, and Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz was also at Old Trafford when Nani made his £22m move.

"At that time, I was lucky because I was working with the strongest agents in the world and then we had a connection with a lot of important persons," said Nani in quotes reported by the Daily Star.

"People who were important in Manchester because, at that time, Ronaldo was playing there and had a similar story, you know, playing for Sporting and then Ferguson went to bring him to United.

"Carlos Queiroz was there as well, he’s Portuguese, so it can help a little bit and I was very excited.

"My agent asked me as there were so many teams to choose from – Chelsea, Arsenal, teams in Italy like Juventus and Inter [Milan].

"Bayern [Munich] and [Real] Madrid – I don’t know if they were true but it was in the news.

"I chose Manchester because of the reasons they gave me at that time and everything [about how] the past was involved with me.

"It gave me the reasons to go there, all my story and beyond that, told me to go to Manchester. It was a club where I have a story in the past before I moved to Manchester, when I was a kid, so it was good."

Nani now plays for Major League Soccer franchise Orlando City.