'He couldn't handle the pressure': Former Manchester United coach slams Argentina star

Manchester City v Feyenoord - UEFA Champions League
Manchester City v Feyenoord - UEFA Champions League

What's the story?

Former Manchester United coach Louis Van Gaal has slammed Angel Di Maria, claiming that the Argentine star could not handle the continuous pressure of the Premier League.

In case you didn't know...

Angel Di Maria broke the British record when he joined Manchester United in 2014 after making 190 appearances with Real Madrid. The Argentine star failed to live up to the hype in his one season spell with the Red Devils and moved on to join Paris Saint-Germain.

Di Maria racked up only four goals and 12 assists in his one season spell under Louis Van Gaal, which was poor considering the money United spent for securing his services. Since joining PSG, Di Maria has scored 66 goals and is on the verge of lifting his third League in four seasons with the Ligue 1 giants.

Di Maria has recorded 16 goals in the current campaign as PSG sit top of the Ligue 1 table, 20 points ahead of Lille.

But the 31-year-old Argentine winger failed to help PSG in their quest for European Glory and succumbed to a 3-1 loss in their own home against Manchester United this season to crash out from the Champions League.

The heart of the matter

"There were complications with the coach at the time," Di Maria told reporters back in January, hitting out to his former coach Van Gaal.

Van Gaal, who remains one of the greatest coaches in the game, won just FA Cup during his tenure with Manchester United. He slammed Di Maria as a response to his comments in his recent interview, claiming that the forward was unable to handle the pressure.

Speaking in an interview with BBC, Van Gaal said:

"Di Maria says it was my problem. I played him in every attacking position. You can check that. He never convinced me in any of those positions. He could not deal with the continuous pressure on the ball in the Premier League. That was his problem."

What's next?

Di Maria is set to feature for PSG as they take up on Toulouse in the Ligue 1 before turning their focus on Nantes in the French Cup.

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Edited by Akarshak (Ishu) Roy