Ex-Manchester United star Nani issues statement after fan accuses him of stealing shirt outside training ground

Former Manchester United star Nani has hit out at claims that he stole a jersey from a fan outside the training ground. He has stated that the jersey was taken away after informing the fan as he had a suspicion that the jersey had previously been stolen from his house.

In a statement published by Record, Nani's entourage revealed that the fan was guaranteed that his jersey would be returned after inspection. The former Manchester United star had a private collection stolen from his house, and he wanted to check if the jersey the fan was wearing was the shirt he wore to help Portugal qualify for the EURO 2016 final. The statement read:

"Following a situation that occurred yesterday after training which has a video published online, player Luís Nani is sorry about the misunderstanding and embarrassment caused to the fan. The shirt in question was recognised by Nani as being an official shirt from his private collection, which had previously been stolen. At the time, several of these appeared for sale online but it was not possible for the player to recover all of the shirts in question."

"The shirt the player kept in his possession yesterday after the fan asked for an autograph, as is visible in the video in question, was collected for a check, in order to determine whether or not it was the shirt stolen from his private collection. After taking the shirt, Nani asked the fan about where he acquired the shirt and guaranteed that it would be given back to him, if he could confirm that it wasn't his. Due to it being an item of high emotional value to the player, seeing as it was the shirt used in the game that qualified Portugal to the Euro 2016 final, in which Nani scored a goal, the player reacted in an emotional way by wanting to confirm that it wasn't the one stolen from him."

The statement added that Nani would be contacting the fan directly after the inspection was done. The jersey that was stolen is special for the former Manchester United star as he had worn it while scoring in the 2-0 win over Wales in the EURO 2016 semifinal.

Former Manchester United star accused by fan of stealing jersey

Nani was forced to release the statement after a fan accused him of stealing the jersey he handed to the former Manchester United for the latter's signature. The fan took to social media and posted a video of the Estrela da Amadora star taking the jersey and driving away.

The fan claims that the jersey was recently bought and added that it was not authentic nor worn in a match. The fan went on to claim that Nani took away without saying a word and he had filed a report to the police immediately.

Following the statement from Nani, the fan has taken down his post from social media. The investigation is in progress.