Angel Di Maria points finger directly at Van Gaal over failed Man Utd stint

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FT Desk

Angel Di Maria has opened up about his failed stint as a Manchester United player and he's laid the blame at the door of former manager Louis van Gaal.

United splashed the cash under Van Gaal, who replaced David Moyes, who had been sacked after facing the unenviable task of succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson in the dugout at Old Trafford.

They broke the British transfer record to sign Di Maria for £59.7m (€69m) and the Argentine was coming off a successful period at Real Madrid in which he won La Liga, the Copa del Rey twice and the Champions League.

He started superbly for United with three goals and four assists in his first six games, but the wheels would soon come off as Van Gaal started to move him around the pitch in his starting position, allegedly unhappy with the player's tactical discipline.

Di Maria says the Dutchman would too often focus on the negatives of his game rather than the positives.

"Things started really well," the Argentine told BBC Sport.

"Everything was flowing. Then I started to have issues with Van Gaal and from there everything fell apart."

"Everything was perfect. But then suddenly we started having lots of meetings about all the things I was doing wrong on the pitch

"He never showed me what I was doing well, just the negatives, over and over. Eventually I got fed up."

Di Maria and his family struggled to adapt to life in Manchester and his wife Jorgelina Cardoso famously said in 2022: "I didn't like it at all. People are all weird. You walk around and you don't know if they're going to kill you. The food is disgusting. The women look like porcelain.

"Angel and I were in Madrid, at the best team in the world, perfect food, perfect weather, everything was perfect. And then came United's proposal.

"I told him 'no way, no way', but he kept saying we will be a little more financially secure and we have to go. We fought about it. I don't blame him for going there. It was horrible. I just told him, 'darling, I want to kill myself, it's night time at two o'clock'."

Things went from bad to worse for Di Maria and his family when they suffered a burglarly in their home in Cheshire while they were inside the property.

"Life there was very different. It gets dark really early and then the cold started. Everything kept snowballing. There was also the break-in at my house," he continued.

"When all of that happens; when you are not playing, when things aren't going well for you, when you have problems inside the club, it ends up affecting you a lot. It made me hate being there.

"I got robbed in Paris too and still stayed for another two or three years, because life there was good. In Manchester, everything just snowballed. I wanted to prioritise my family and that is why I left."

Not happy with life off the pitch or on it, the former Real Madrid and Benfica star quickly pushed for an exit after just 12 months and informed the club of his desire to leave, eventually not turning up for pre-season.

"He said I never showed up [for pre-season] but I had already said I wanted to leave and that I wasn't going to report back to the club," the 38-year-old recalled.

"I stayed in Rosario until a decision was made.

"If you are unhappy, your family is unhappy, if your house gets burgled, you fall out with the manager and things aren't going well, it's very difficult to say I loved my time in Manchester. That is the reality."

Despite the lack of impact he made for Man Utd as a whole, and with the unhappiness of his family, it doesn't seem like Di Maria regrets the move as he is glad he had the opportunity to play in the Premier League and alongside the likes of Wayne Rooney.

"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. For that, I'm grateful," he added.

"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.

"Joining them was incredible. 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."

Di Maria would go on to sign for Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Benfica before returning home to first club Rosario Central in 2025

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FT Desk

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