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Nani joins Orlando City on free transfer

PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP / Getty

Portuguese international Nani made the switch to Major League Soccer on Monday, joining Orlando City as a Designated Player.

The 32-year-old winger signed a three-year contract with the Lions after leaving Sporting CP on a free transfer.

Orlando now has four Designated Players under contract - one over the MLS limit. To comply with league rules, the club will likely use Targeted Allocation Money to buy down one of Dom Dwyer, Sacha Kljestan, or Josue Colman's contracts. Orlando could also move one of those players before the season begins in March.

"This is an exciting day for our organization," Luiz Muzzi, executive vice president of soccer operations, said in a statement. "Nani brings tremendous experience to our roster. He's a dynamic winger with quality abilities to move and cross the ball, impact games, and lead the offensive play."

Nani made his name at Manchester United alongside countryman Cristiano Ronaldo, tallying 40 goals and 73 assists for the Red Devils. Then he bounced around Europe after leaving United in 2014. A forgettable stint at Fenerbahce preceded similarly disappointing moves to Valencia and Lazio.

Nani returned to childhood club Sporting in 2018 and became captain. Financial difficulties reportedly forced Sporting to part ways with the winger.

He is, however, still on Portugal's radar. He was a protagonist at Euro 2016 - starting in every match as the Selecao won the tournament for the first time - and made three appearances at the 2018 World Cup.

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