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Paris Saint-Germain winger Angel Di Maria has revealed he never wanted to leave his former club Real Madrid for England’s Manchester United, Marca reported. Di Maria had a short and uneventful season with the Red Devils following his British transfer record move of £59.7 million in the summer of 2014.
The 27-year-old’s move to the 20-time English champions came in as a surprise, not only for the hefty price tag but for Los Blancos’ decision to part ways with the player who was instrumental in their La Decima winning campaign in 2014.
Di Maria arrived at the Theatre of Dreams for a British transfer record fee and almost immediately produced what was expected of him. He introduced himself to the Old Trafford faithful in fine fashion by scoring a stunning free kick against Queens Park Rangers. The Argentinian made a fine start to his career at the club - inheriting the famous No.7 shirt. It appeared as though Di Maria was ready to take the League by storm.
Despite finding the back of the net 3 times in the league and adding an impressive figure of 11 assists to his name in his first season with the club, it all went horribly wrong for the former Real Madrid winger.
The Argentina international was sidelined with a hamstring injury and he struggled to secure a place in Dutch coach Louis Van Gaal’s starting lineup. Di Maria made only one substitute appearance in the team's seven matches and was often deployed as a forward by the manager.
To add more to his misery, he was given his marching orders in United’s 2-1 defeat to Arsenal in last season’s FA Cup sixth round. The 27-year-old subsequently joined French champions PSG the following year after having a torrid season at Manchester.
Money had nothing to do with Real exit: Di Maria
Di Maria is set make his return to the Santiago Bernabeu for the first time since leaving the Galacticos in a Champions League meeting between PSG and the Spanish giants. In an interview with Marca, the former Madrid winger has revealed that it was never in his plans to leave the Spanish capital.
“My intention was always to stay at Real Madrid.” Di Maria said.
“I do not know much about what happened as these are more things for representatives.”
“These things happen in football. I left Madrid but I had the most beautiful last ovation from the Bernabeu and with that I remain calm.”
“They always wanted to attribute a desire to leave the club, but it was not true.”
He further added: “The only thing I asked for is something that was fair. There are many things that I value and many of them have nothing to do with my salary.”
“After winning La Decima I went to the World Cup with the hope of receiving the nod from the directors, which never came. Many things and many lies were spoken.”
“I didn't have much of a relationship with [Madrid president] Florentino Perez. This is a president who does what he has to do in his work. When I signed, I signed and when I had to go, I went."
