Nani: ‘I Wept Like a Kid in the Dressing Room in Basel’

Manchester United winger Nani has admitted that he was in tears in the dressing room following the Red Devils unanticipated exit from the UEFA Champions League.

“I wept like a kid in the dressing room in Basel,” Nani said in The Daily Star.

“All of my team-mates were also affected because nobody could quite believe that we had been knocked out at just the group stage. It was like hell in there.

“This defeat and the loss at Wembley in the final last May have been the worst two days in my United career.

“I am so sad about what has happened. It is almost unbelievable. The dressing room in Basel was like a funeral.”

Can you really blame him?

Absolutely not. United made it all the way to the Champions League final last season and have done so in three of the last four years. Thus, a group stage exit is just about the end of the world for England’s biggest club.

No disrespect to Basel, but Manchester United were always fancied to get a result in Switzerland, which is why the result is seen as a huge travesty.

“This squad is one which is ready to win big titles, so to go out like this is a complete nightmare,” Nani continued.

“We know we are better than some of the other teams, so it is hard to be able to work out exactly how this has happened.

“I do not think that we were too arrogant or complacent. United are a team which always respects their opponents.

“We are damaged but this is the moment for us to soar, and try and bounce back. Now the Premier League is our main objective. It is necessary to be champions.

“But the boss is a man who knows how to pick his players up and will help us get back on track.”

And get back on track they did, as United defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday night.

The men of the hour were Nani and Wayne Rooney, who managed two goals apiece.

United looked much better in attack, but they should have scored more goals to be perfectly honest.

The play of Danny Welbeck and Antonio Valencia was also immaculate, especially that of the latter.

All in all, it was a solid day at the office for the Red Devils, but had they been on better form it could have easily have been a more lopsided scoreline.

Now then, can Manchester City rebound following their own exit from the Champions League on Monday night versus Chelsea?