Angel Di Maria has revealed he had no intention of joining Manchester United last summer.
The Red Devils signed the attacker for a British record transfer fee of £59.7m from Real Madrid in August 2014. After one season, the Argentine international left Old Trafford and made a switch to Paris Saint-Germain.
Before joining Louis van Gaal’s side, Di Maria won the Champions League and was named the man of the match for his impressive display in the final against Atletico Madrid. Real signed James Rodriguez from AS Monaco and the Colombian star’s arrival at Santiago Bernabéu saw the La Liga giants offload him.
PSG were interested in signing Di Maria, along with United. However, they were unable to complete the transfer due to the Financial Fair Play restrictions. It was earlier reported he was forced to leave the Spanish capital club, which saw him end up at United.
“My intention was always to stay at Madrid. I don’t really know what happened on the inside of the deal – these are things that representatives deal with. It happens in football,” Di Maria was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
“My move to PSG could have happened before this summer but it didn’t for financial reasons and I ended up going to United. In the summer I had the chance to go there again and I could not say no.”
Di Maria had a good start to his Old Trafford career. However, he saw a dip in his form half way through the season and was sent off in United’s FA Cup defeat to Arsenal. Following his suspension, Ashley Young cemented a place in the starting XI, which saw the former Real star settle for a time on the bench.
The winger revealed that he had problems with people at United. This, coupled with lack of playing time in the second half of last season convinced him to leave the Premier League club.
“I started very well but then I had problems with people at the club, I started being left on the bench, then my home was robbed. It all just made me want to get out of there as quickly as possible,” he explained.
Van Gaal had earlier admitted that he lacks players with pace in United’s attacking division. The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager hinted his side could bring in a pacey player in mid-season transfer window.
Had Di Maria continued at United beyond the summer transfer window, he would have been vital in Red Devils’ attack. He, along with Wayne Rooney, Anthony Martial and either of Juan Mata or Memphis Depay could have formed a formidable attack.
United fans can only hope their summer signing Depay can step up and show his worth. So far, the Dutch international had struggled to adjust to the Premier League’s physicality. He spent the last few league matches on the bench.
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