Manchester United's Nani: One of the World's Best?

Manchester United winger Nani has claimed himself to be one of the top footballers in the world today, as the controversy ensues over his infamous goal against Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend.

The goal against Spurs was his fourth in four games, and seventh of the season, as the Portugal international continues to impress pundits, journalists and fans alike.

And the 23-year-old seemingly knows it, telling the media: "As a player I think I'm close to being as complete as I can be. Now I can say I'm one of the top players in the world."

He added: "You have to believe in yourself and believe in your abilities on the pitch. Big games are for big players."

However, such quotes haven't gone down well with the footballing public.

Labelled as a "poor man's Cristiano Ronaldo", Nani has not gained many admirers in the past due to his tendency for diving, his lack of work rate for a winger (the most active position on the pitch) and the inconsistency that's evidently visible in his crossing and passing.

Even United fans have taken exception to Nani's comments, with many forums filled with comments describing the player as a "joke" and "deluded".

Luis Nani lives and works in a country where a culture of self-confidence isn't fostered; people who create their own hype are labelled as arrogant and, as written above, deluded.

Of course his quotes were never going to go down well with the general football public, especially in the UK, but nevertheless it is understandable why he has labelled himself as one of football's best.

As he even said, you do indeed have to believe in yourself if you want to be successful in sport, as backed up by many academic studies.

Heavy research in the massively booming industry that is sport psychology has shown athletes who have greater self-confidence (and thus greater self-efficacy) are more likely to perform better.

Such performers have an internal locus of control, where they attribute all successes to internal reasons, i.e. they won because they have the ability and talent to win.

Nani clearly has an internal locus of control. On the other hand, athletes with an external locus of control attribute failure internally and success externally, i.e. they believe they lost because they don't have the ability to win, and should they win, they'd think it's only down to luck.

Perhaps this is the reason why Federico Macheda has struggled despite several opportunities to impress at Old Trafford, and why Nani has flourished.

Four goals and six assists from 10 games in the Premier League tells its own story for Luis Nani, whose comments to the media made public the ideology described above.

By knowing and telling the world he's one of the best, Nani probably isn't trying to impress the public and boost his ego, but rather send a message out to his opponents.

Just like boxers create their own hype, maybe Nani is doing to Premier League footballers what David Haye is doing to Audley Harrison, i.e. intimidate the opponent.

If such players are adamant they're going to win and be successful, who's going to stand in their way?

Especially in the case of Nani. It takes a lot of nerve, especially in the UK and in football, to be audacious and actually claim to be one of the best; it's something people just don't like, that feeling of being inferior.

Can the Portuguese winger live up to his own billing? He definitely thinks so, and in any case, his opponents have certainly got the message.

Quotes from skysports.com