Nani wants to bring Valencia to the top

SINGAPORE — After his starring role for Portugal in their victorious European Championship campaign last month, there is no doubt in Luis Nani’s mind that much will be expected of him at Valencia in the Spanish La Liga this season.

The 29-year-old joined Valencia from Turkish side Fenerbahce last month on a three-year contract for an estimated £7.3 million (S$12.98 million).

He is one of four signings that Valencia, owned by Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim, have made during the current transfer window so far, as they look to bounce back from a disappointing 2015/2016 season where they ended in 12th place, far below their initial target of a top-four finish.

Valencia’s La Liga campaign got off to a bumpy start on Monday as they lost 2-4 at home to Las Palmas but Nani — who did not play in the match because he was serving a suspension from the Turkish league — believes Valencia have what it takes to return to the upper echelons of the Spanish league.

“I am very satisfied with the set-up at Valencia since coming in, and I’m trying to integrate into the team as quickly as possible,” Nani told TODAY in an exclusive email interview.

“I remember all along, from back when I went up against them as a Manchester United player, that Valencia have always been a good team, so I wasn’t surprised to see so many quality players in the squad when I joined them.

“Obviously, the main goal for us now is to fight hard to achieve to be in Champions League next season. We need to be ambitious but also face the competition step by step. I am solely focused on helping Valencia come back as one of the best teams in La Liga and Europe.”

Nani also revealed that his good friend and international team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays for Real Madrid, also encouraged him to make the move to Spain.

“I think that the La Liga is a great competition, everybody has told me that it’s suitable for me and for my style,” revealed Nani. “Ronaldo explained to me that Valencia are a big club, and that it will be a good destination for me, where I can play against top quality opponents and enjoy fantastic fan support.”

Nani added that his recent success with Portugal at the Euros has given him a boost for the coming season.

“Winning the Euros was an amazing experience, it’s very exciting to win a big trophy for your country for the first time in our lives,” he said.

“Of course, I felt very good during the Euro matches and that entire experience has made me a stronger player capable of facing all the new challenges here in Valencia.”

While both Barcelona and Real Madrid are the favourites once again to dominate the La Liga this season, Nani, who will make his La Liga bow this Saturday against Eibar, is quietly optimistic that Valencia will rattle their cages during the course of the campaign.

Drawing inspiration from Leicester City’s unexpected English Premier League (EPL) title win last season, he said: “It’s admittedly very difficult to achieve incredible success like what Leicester did because in the Premier League and La Liga, the biggest teams are always very strong.

"But Valencia and Atletico (Madrid) have done it in the past, so it’s possible.

“We are building a strong team that wants to win every match, to work very hard every day and to be determined. If we always do our best, who knows (how high we can go)?”

Away from the La Liga, Nani also told TODAY that he expects former club Manchester United to challenge for all four trophies — the EPL, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Europa League — up for grabs.

The Red Devils have spent extravagantly this season, splashing over £110 million on midfielder Paul Pogba, winger Henrikh Mkhitaryan and defender Eric Bailly, while striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who arrived at Old Trafford on a free transfer, is said to be getting £250,000 a week.

And Nani says this is clear evidence that the Red Devils, who finished fifth last year, are making every effort to become the top club in England once again.

“The market decides the price of every player and, for sure, Man United has studied the value of every transfer,” said Nani, who joined the 20-time English champions in 2007 and left for Fenerbahce in 2015 after eight years at the club.

“You can see they are making a very big effort in order to be back at the top of English and European football. They now have players like Pogba, who has improved tremendously over the past few seasons. So they’re one of the clubs with real options to fight for all titles.

“But overall, I think that we’ll see an interesting competition in England this season.”