Angel Di Maria has revealed his true feelings on one major factor in his ill-fated playing spell under former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford.
The 38-year-old Rosario Central winger was a British record transfer signing during his career after Manchester United signed him from Real Madrid in 2014.
The Red Devils splashed out a hefty £59.7m transfer fee to land Angel Di Maria, who had deeply impressed during his time in the Spanish capital with Real Madrid.
Di Maria would only spend one season at Old Trafford and the Argentine attacking midfielder’s spell would be disrupted by injuries and other off-field issues as well.
Former Real Madrid winger Angel Di Maria on the Man Utd No 7 shirt and what he thought about the pressure of it
Outside of his struggles of adapting to life in England, Angel Di Maria’s relationship with Louis van Gaal was troubled during his time at Manchester United.
Di Maria followed in the footsteps of former Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo by wearing Man Utd’s iconic No 7 shirt for the 2014-15 Premier League season.
The 2022 World Cup winner netted four times and registered 11 assists in his 32 matches across all competitions for the Red Devils during his time in England.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Di Maria admitted that he saw the United No 7 as simply a “number,” which was no different to him wearing the No 22 at Los Blancos.
“Joining them was incredible,” he said.
“I played as Manchester United on the PlayStation. I used to play with [Wayne] Rooney and suddenly, he was beside me.
“Of course, I understood the number seven was the biggest shirt number at Manchester United. But to me, it was just a number, like I wore 22 at Madrid.”
Angel Di Maria on his playing spell at Man Utd ahead of his move to Paris Saint-Germain
Di Maria’s time at the Red Devils ended in 2015 and the former Argentina international signed for French side Paris Saint-Germain for a fee of £44.3m.
Despite his shortcomings at Man Utd, Di Maria insisted that he did not regret his initial decision to leave Los Blancos and make his blockbuster move to Old Trafford.
“But when it comes to the Premier League, the atmosphere, life at the club, honestly, I was left with a really good feeling because there were great people inside the club who always treated me well, who always supported me and helped me with everything,” Di Maria explained.
“For that, I’m grateful. It was a decision I wanted to make. I wanted to go to United.
“The football, arriving at the stadiums, the atmosphere, the love from the fans, I don’t regret any of it.”
Di Maria, who won’t represent defending champions Argentina at the World Cup in North America this summer, has been with current side Rosario Central since signing in 2025.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/amwYTdl