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Manchester United cult hero Nani has identified the major error that David Moyes committed during his ill-fated reign at Old Trafford after succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson.
David Moyes took his place in the Old Trafford hot seat in 2013 after he left Premier League side Everton and replaced Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager.
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Nani was part of the last Man Utd side to lift the Premier League title in the 2012-13 campaign before Ferguson announced his retirement as the Red Devils’ manager.
Moyes kicked off his reign at Man Utd by leading the Red Devils to the Community Shield trophy, with the club beating Wigan Athletic 2-0 at Wembley in 2013.
However, the 62-year-old Everton manager, who is in his second managerial spell at Goodison Park, was unable to see out the full 2013-14 campaign with United.
Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty ImagesNani breaks down the biggest issue with David Moyes’ Man Utd reign after Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement
Manchester United’s Premier League title defence fell flat under David Moyes and the Scotsman was offloaded from Old Trafford 10 months after his appointment.
Moyes was sacked as Man Utd manager in 2014 and Red Devils legend Ryan Giggs was installed as interim head coach for the remainder of the campaign.
Speaking to FourFourTwo magazine, former Man Utd and Portugal winger Nani insisted that Moyes’ “bad man-management” undermined his spell at the club.
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Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images
“When Moyes arrived, he came in with a mentality the complete opposite of what United required, he said.
“After Ferguson left, that dressing room needed a manager who understood the club’s culture, someone strong-willed enough to handle players of that stature and used to winning with big teams.
“Moyes wasn’t. He arrived with a small-club mentality and made poor decisions. Above all, it was about bad man-management.
“When you have high-quality players, you can’t waste them by taking away their confidence or devaluing them – that happened to me.”
Nani backs up his argument with one interaction with former Man Utd manager David Moyes
Moyes eventually bounced back from his setback at United and later coached Real Sociedad, Sunderland and West Ham before his return to Everton in 2025.
Nani, who retired from football in 2024, recalled one memory where Moyes flip-flopped on a point that he told him during their time together at Man Utd.
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“At first, he told me one thing, shortly afterwards he changed completely,” he added.
“You can’t convince a player to stay by telling him he’s fundamental to the team, then behave in the opposite way.
“He repeated that United depended on me, that things didn’t work without me, and that speech convinced me to renew my contract.
“As soon as I signed, his behaviour towards me completely changed. He stopped believing in me.
“Once I realised, I wasn’t in his plans, I wanted to leave – but I’d just signed a five-year contract.”
Nani lifted four Premier League titles, a Champions League trophy and two League Cups at Old Trafford during his time under United legend Sir Alex Ferguson.
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