Ex-Manchester United stars Luis Nani and Federico Macheda re-unite in Turkish Super Lig clash | OneFootball

Former Manchester United teammates Luis Nani and Federico Macheda recently shared a moment as their respective current sides, Adana Demirspor and Ankaraguca, met in a Super Lig clash.

Neither Nani nor Macheda started the game, which ended in a 1-1 stalemate.

Macheda came on as a second-half substitute in the 55th minute while Nani was introduced into proceedings in the 87th minute of the match in an attempt to make a difference.

As it turned out, neither player had the desired impact.

The pair caught up after the match, with Macheda even sharing a picture of them both on Instagram.

The Italian captioned the heartwarming photo of himself and Nani, “Amazing player but mostly a great person. Was very nice to see you again amigooo.”

Federico Macheda met Nani in Turkey (Courtesy: Instagram/federicomachedaofficial)

He also included a throwback picture of their United days.

Macheda and Nani had two very contrasting spells at Old Trafford. On April 5 2009, the former shocked the footballing world with a famous last-gasp winner for United against Aston Villa.

Locked in a Premier League title race against Liverpool and Chelsea and off the back of two successive domestic defeats, Sir Alex Ferguson’s men couldn’t afford another loss. With the score at 2-1 and half an hour on the clock, Fergie brought on Macheda. Cristiano Ronaldo restored parity, but it was the substitute who went on to steal the headlines courtesy of his famous winning goal.

The debutant produced a Cryuff turn that left a rival defender in his wake before releasing a strike that went into the back of the net, beyond the reach of Brad Friedel. Macheda’s goal is still remembered to this day. The player went on to score in his very next game against Sunderland.

However, things didn’t work out at United and he ended up making only 36 appearances for the club. He spent time out on loan at Sampdoria, Queens Park Rangers, Stuttgart, Doncaster Rovers, and Birmingham City, but he was not able to revive his career to the level of potential he had. He was released by United in 2014 and joined Cardiff City.

Nani on the other hand, enjoyed great success with the 20-time English champions. The Portuguese lifted four Premier League titles and a Champions League during eight trophy-laden years at the Theatre of Dreams.

He left United in 2015.

It certainly brings a smile to the face to see Nani and Macheda still going strong after all these years and sharing the pitch together.