Angel Di Maria has revealed the reason behind his decision to leave Manchester United and sign for PSG in the summer transfer window at the start of the season.
Di Maria was bought by Manchester United from Real Madrid amid much fanfare and a British record transfer fee a couple of summer ago. However, after a bright start, the Argentine's performances went down, with Louis Van Gaal even consigning the former Benfica man to the bench.
A burglary attempt at his home in Manchester unsettled Di Maria off the pitch as well, and an exit out of Old Trafford looked inevitable.
PSG were always the favourites to sign Di Maria in the summer, after the French club only missed out on the midfielder's signing the first time owing to FFP constraints. With Di Maria making it clear he wanted to leave and with the FFP restrictions softening, PSG pounced and completed the signing, with the 27-year-old revealing it was a phone call from manager Laurent Blanc that convinced him his future was in Paris.
"The first time we spoke, it was before I signed for PSG," the Manchester Evening News quoted Di Maria as saying to Bein Sports. "This made me very happy.
"It happened the same way when [then Real manager Jose] Mourinho made me come to Real Madrid. They called me before I spoke with them.
"Blanc called me when he was in the United States and I was still on holiday. He said he was very happy to recruit me, that he had wanted me for several seasons.
"Obviously, this gave me an added incentive to sign for PSG."
Di Maria has been in great form for PSG this season – scoring four goals and laying on nine assists in 13 Ligue 1 games -- while Manchester United have missed his creative spark.
Goals have been hard to come by for Van Gaal's men this season, and you do wonder if a fit and happy Di Maria would have made the difference for Manchester United this season.
