Nani tears into Man United players for having 'no hunger, no attitude and no desire to win'

Manchester United fan favourite Nani did not mince his words after being asked about the differences between Erik ten Hag's current squad and the team he played in under Sir Alex Ferguson.

The 35-year-old, who currently plays for A-League side Melbourne Victory, lifted four Premier League titles and a Champions League during eight trophy-laden years at Old Trafford.

But since his departure from United in 2015, the club have struggled in the silverware department. In fact, they have't won a trophy in five seasons – a stat they will want to change in the coming months.

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That being said, last weekend's 4-0 defeat to Brentford after an opening day defeat to Brighton has failed to spark much confidence amongst supporters and pundits.

Even former players have publicly criticised the club's start to the season.

In an interview with Rio Ferdinand's VIBE WITH FIVE Podcast, former Portugal international Nani made some bold points.

“Rio, it is obvious when you look,” he said after being asked about the differences between Erik ten Hag's current side and the team they played in during Sir Alex Ferguson's reign.

“I don’t like to talk too much sometimes, and I don’t talk about players. But you can see that there is no hunger.

"There is no hunger, and no attitude; no desire to win in the club. You have talent, and a lot of talented players. But they don’t like to get tired to win.

“I liked to sweat to win, they do not. They make one run, and then if they have to make one challenge to get the ball. You know what we used to do. Run back to defend and attack.

"But I still played and scored even when I was tired. I was never afraid to attack one vs. one, the defender was afraid when I had the ball. That’s the big difference."

In the same interview, Nani defended Cristiano Ronaldo's desire to leave Old Trafford.

"It’s a long time since we played together and Cristiano is not a kid anymore," he said. "Times change and the reactions and attitude can change as well. But, as we see, he’s doing the same things as usual; he doesn’t like to lose, he reacts when the team is not doing well.

"But the only difference is that it’s different times. He’s playing again at Man United but he’s been all over the world doing well at different teams with different players. He’s in a team where the managers are trying to build a strong team and it’s not easy, it takes time.

"For Cristiano, he doesn’t have time to lose on building teams or waiting for the next season. He wants to continue to be at the top, scoring goals, being the man. That’s why the reaction is normal, we all have the wrong reactions sometimes.”

Image credit: Alamy