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Many have been speculating about the reason behind Angel Di Maria’s move to Manchester United since his transfer for a record £59.7m was confirmed. Some say it is due to the fact that he was under-paid and under-appreciated at the club, which does hold some truth.
Speaking to reporters ahead of Real Madrid’s trip to Anoeta to face Real Sociedad, head coach Carlo Ancelotti said, “Every situation is different. Some might want to earn more money, some don't like the competition. When someone wants to leave, I intend to let him, because when you're not motivated to be in the greatest team in the world I'm not going to stop you. Each situation is very different.”
“It can be for motivation, for money, because of the competition,” he adds.
Was money the reason behind Did Angel Di Maria’s move to Manchester United?
Now, Ancelotti’s comment were not necessarily directed towards Di Maria, and could have been more of a general statement towards players who have left the club since Ancelotti took over the club. Real Madrid has always been a club more about fielding players based on their reputation instead of their calibre and form.
Problems related to Di Maria’s wages is not something that was unheard of before his move to Old Trafford. During the 2012 season, he was given a raise of an additional €1 million per year, taking his income from €2m to €3m per year by the club after several reports of him being unhappy at the club. For someone who has been as influential as the other players in the squad, Di Maria wasn’t cherished by the Madrid administration.
"Many things were said and many lies circulated,” Di Maria wrote in his open letter to Real Madrid fans. “They always wanted to pin the idea of leaving the club on me, but that's not how it was. Unfortunately, my football isn't to someone's taste. The only thing I asked for was a fair deal. There are many things that I value and a lot of them have nothing to do with my salary. I hope to find them at Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in the world, with which I'm hoping to make history.”
Recently, before his deal was given a green light, Di Maria’s father revealed that his son was offered an annual salary of €6 million, a measly upgrade of €1.5m from his latest paycheck at Madrid despite him being one of the most important players at the club. It is worth mentioning that he was awarded the man of the match award in the UEFA Champions League final.
“My son was never appreciated [at Madrid],” said Di Maria’s father Miguel as quoted on Goal. “It was like they did not want him at the club, they never showed affection. Real Madrid never offered a €6m a season salary to my son. The last proposal was €5m, which represented only a million and a half more than the salary he was receiving.”
“Now Angel is happy at Manchester United. Economically, he is being treated better than at Real Madrid. Real Madrid have lost a key player.”
Motivation is the reason behind Xabi Alonso’s departure
Ancelotti said, “He explained it very well; he needed other motivations. Everyone at Madrid has a lot of respect for him. It was very difficult to change his idea and we let him go. With the attitude he has had as a player and as a person it would have been very difficult to tell him he couldn't go.”
“He was very important in the titles we won last year. We have that position well covered with Kroos and Illarra, who could be very useful this season. Xabi leaving was a surprise because everything was fine; he has made the decision and we are a bit surprised but we respect it. He has been honest with Real Madrid and with himself. We respect him.”
“I think signing Kroos has improved the quality of the midfield and we signed the best possible midfielder to play with Xabi. Later Xabi surprised everyone and we still have Kroos who is 24 years old and Illarra, who has more space to play in”.
Xabi Alonso has won almost every major title with Real Madrid that is possible, and it somewhat makes sense when he claims that he wanted a change in his career. Real Madrid’s decision of letting the Spaniard go is also logical. Instead of letting him leave them for free next season when his contract expires, the club opted to cash in on him. Performance wise, Alonso’s form had started dipping too, especially in the later stages last season.
However, it is too early to say yet that he is past his prime, and perhaps, to prove his critics wrong, the former Liverpool midfielder chose to move to Bayern Munich instead of playing second fiddle to Toni Kroos or Asier Illaramendi.
Alonso made his debut for Bayern Munich on Saturday against Schalke, and was their best player on the pitch. Despite being subbed off 68th minute following a cramp, he had the second highest touches of the ball (88), more than any other Bayern player except for Holger Badstuber (98).
