Former Manchester United winger Angel Di Maria has for the first time revealed the full circumstances behind his departure to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer in an exclusive interview with BeIn Sports.
Di Maria arrived at Old Trafford from Real Madrid for a British record fee of £59.7million, and big things were expected of him at United, but things didn't work out. Di Maria spoke about the phone call he received from PSG manager Laurent Blanc to convince him to join the French champions.
Di Maria reveals that Blanc phoned him about a move to PSG
Di Maria told Bein Sports about the phone call he received from Blanc saying, "the first time we spoke, it was before I signed for PSG and this made me very happy" as it was clear that things were not going well at United.
Di Maria continued to say "it happened the same way Mourinho made me come to Real Madrid" as Di Maria was still on his holiday before he was supposed to join up with the rest of the United squad on their pre-season tour when the calls were made.
Di Maria and Van Gaal didn't seem to get on
Di Maria needed a manager to be behind him 100% from the start and believe in him, and it seemed that he never got on with Louis van Gaal while at United. Since Blanc convinced him to come to PSG he is sure that everything will work out well.
Di Maria happy that he joined PSG
"Blanc said he was very happy to recruit me, that he wanted me for several seasons", Di Maria said, and it was clear that PSG would have got their man last summer before United did if they could have afforded him. Di Maria said this "gave me an added incentive to sign for PSG".
