In response to the tactics, Louis Van Gaal would stick to his guns and continue playing Di Maria as a striker, this time partnering him up with Radamel Falcao against QPR. Manchester United would win the game 2-0 but without a goal involvement in his new position, fans still weren’t too sure about how Di Maria was being utilised within the team.
And to many fans’ surprise, Louis Van Gaal did just that, but maybe not exactly how everyone was expecting. In the next game, Manchester United would beat Leicester City 3-1 at Old Trafford, where Angel Di Maria played as an attacking midfielder for the first time.
And despite usually playing on the left-hand side, fans would instantly notice an improvement in Di Maria’s play, with one person commenting, “Di Maria looked transformed when playing in the middle.”
And despite not officially counting as an assist, Manchester United’s second goal would come from Di Maria’s powerful shot that would fall right into the path of Radamel Falcao. However, any positivity that might have come from the victory was quickly shut down as Di Maria would unfortunately be the subject of an attempted house burglary only hours later.
Just a few hours after the Leicester City game, Di Maria was having dinner with his wife and daughter, when they suddenly heard what sounded like people trying to break into their home. Angel quickly grabbed a knife and rushed over to the patio door, where the burglars were trying to break in from, and bravely shouted, “one moment, one moment,” over and over, allowing his daughter and the babysitter time to get upstairs. Cunningly, the babysitter pressed the emergency alarm button, which blared out sirens, scaring away the burglars.
Within minutes, police officers and a helicopter arrived at the scene, and although the Di Marias were physically unharmed, they were left feeling shaken and unsafe to live in their own home. As a result, Angel moved his family into a hotel, where they would stay for the next month while searching for a new home to live in.
Despite the trauma caused by the burglary, Di Maria continued playing and enjoying his time on the pitch, picking up two assists in his next three games. And although his goal and assist record was decent up until this point, the Argentinian winger was struggling to replicate his form from his previous season at Real Madrid.
And whilst Di Maria was still adapting to life in the Premier League, he felt that a bigger factor for his dip in goal contributions was because of Van Gaal’s pragmatic tactical approach and his persistence in playing him out of his favoured position.
And to be fair, not only had fans backed up this claim in the past, but it seemed like several journalists agreed with Di Maria’s sentiment, with one article thoroughly analysing his in-game data and coming to the conclusion that his best position statistically was on the left wing of a 4-4-2 diamond formation. Di Maria obviously knew this himself, and he would repeatedly express his frustrations to the coaching staff and Louis Van Gaal.
However, no amount of protesting would change Van Gaal’s stubborn approach to his tactics, and actually, this would only sour his relationship with the manager. Tensions between the pair would only worsen, as it seemed that even if Di Maria had a standout performance, Van Gaal would often choose to focus on Di Maria’s mistakes during the game, rather than giving him credit, which strangely, is something that he’d never do with other players.
Unfortunately, it seemed like there was no way back between Van Gaal and Di Maria, because even after Angel assisted United’s only goal in the 2-1 loss against Swansea, Di Maria would be hooked off at half-time in the following match against Sunderland, and then again in the next match against Newcastle, after only 60 minutes.
Angel Di Maria’s time at Manchester United would only continue to deteriorate, as one of his last starts of the season would come in an FA Cup quarter-final against Arsenal, and despite assisting United’s only goal once again, Di Maria would be sent off in the second half after receiving two yellow cards in a matter of seconds, one for diving and the other for pulling the referee’s shirt in frustration.
To make matters even worse, rumours began circulating that Di Maria told his friends that he regretted joining Manchester United and was looking to leave the club in the summer. This left some fans with a bitter taste in their mouth, however, Di Maria was quick to dispel any speculation about his future, telling the club that he wanted to stay and extending the lease on his new home.
Around this time, Angel even got his Manchester United shirt number tattooed on his arm, leading fans to believe that he was clearly committed to the club, and despite the loyalty that he was showing off the pitch, Di Maria wouldn’t get much of a chance to prove himself on the field, as he’d play an average of 20 minutes per game for the remaining 8 matches of the season.
Ironically, he still managed to assist twice in that short time, ending his season with 15 goal contributions in 32 appearances. But despite what might seem like respectable stats for some players, Di Maria hadn’t reached anywhere near the heights that were expected of him, given that Manchester United had broken the British transfer record to sign him.
Some journalists even labelled him one of the worst signings of the 14-15 season, despite finishing joint third in the Premier League assists. However, like many top players, Di Maria was his own harshest critic and out of everyone, he seemed the most disappointed with his debut season.
I’m not happy with my first year in England. I moved here from Real to win titles and this season has been very bad for me. I’m frustrated because I want to do better. The fans in England have not seen the real Di Maria. I know I can offer a better level.
And whilst rumours about his future at Old Trafford began recirculating due to his lack of game time, Angel expressed his determination to win silverware with the Red Devils.
Adapting to English football is not easy. People told me the first year for a foreigner here is hard. And that’s true. My challenge is not for one year, but to become part of the history of Manchester United.
With Di Maria having expressed his commitment to the club various times now, you’d think that rumours surrounding his future at Manchester United would finally start to die down. However, as he joined the Argentinian squad for the 2015 Copa America, the speculation only intensified, with Angel being heavily linked with a move to PSG.
Despite this, Di Maria stayed consistent with his previous statements, expressing his desire to stay at United throughout the tournament. And yet, during the months of June and early July, the links were never ending, with reports suggesting that a move to PSG was imminent.
Meanwhile, Argentina would reach the Copa America finals, where they would unfortunately fall short to Chile on penalties. As a result, Di Maria and his United teammate Marcus Rojo were granted an extended break before being expected to join the rest of the squad in America for pre-season training.
However, a day after they were expected to arrive, Luis Van Gaal was asked if Di Maria had flown to San Jose, to which he revealed, “No, I’ve heard he’s not on the plane. Marcus Rojo was also not on the plane. He had passport issues. But for Di Maria, I do not know why.”
With Angel seemingly going AWOL, his claims of loyalty to Manchester United felt insincere, and for some fans, it was the final straw. After all the rumours that have been happening in France, it seems like it is the case that Di Maria is on his way to PSG. But what an idiotic way to go about it.
He’s taken the piss, to be quite frankly, with a club that pays him millions of pounds a year, and a club that should be respected more by a player like Angel Di Maria, fans that have stood by him throughout a season where he’s been hit and missed.
Now, for him to leave Manchester United for family reasons, personal reasons, whatever, fair dues, mate. If you want to go off to a lesser league, to Paris, to play for a team that’s a lesser team than Manchester United, then, you know, and that’s exactly what he did.
On the 6th of August 2015, PSG announced that they had signed Di Maria for £44.3 million, £15.4 million less than what United had paid for just the year earlier. The next day, Di Maria released an open letter, expressing his gratitude to Manchester United and its fans.
I did my best, but football is not like maths. Often a lot of things out of our control affect the way we feel and the way things turn out. I’m sorry it did not work as I would have wished in this amazing huge club. Also, a special mention to all the fans who always trusted me and showed me their respect and love.
Now, it’s time to move to PSG, but the glorious Manchester United club will be forever in my memory. And despite the love that Di Maria claimed he still had for the fans, the feeling wasn’t mutual, as many would take to social media to voice their disdain for him.
And despite their differences, Louis van Gaal would admit that replacing someone with Di Maria’s skill set would be a very tricky task.
“So Di Maria, okay, we have solved that problem before the competition starts, but it’s for us a big loss. I want more attackers with speed and creativity. Di Maria is one of those players. We have to look for that kind of players. Of course, they have to have the talent to cope with the English rhythm and that is difficult to find.”
On the contrary, Di Maria had no love loss for Van Gaal as he’d break his silence on their relationship less than a month later.
At Manchester United, I played very well but then got injured. Things did not work out and I also changed my position. Van Gaal was the one that decided that and I ended up being more on the bench than in the team. It is difficult to adapt to Van Gaal because he points to his philosophy. I started very well with him and then had a couple of clashes. There came a time when I did not have a good relationship with Van Gaal and that influences much in a player’s mind.
To add insult to injury, Di Maria would speak to the French media a couple of weeks later, this time detailing his motivations for leaving United.
Life in England was difficult and it wasn’t easy for a South American. Some people adapt but for others it’s harder. After the break-in, it wasn’t reasonable to stay. My family wasn’t happy, my daughter was suffering so it was important to leave.
At the end of the season when I left to play in the Copa America, I made the decision to leave and I saw there was the possibility to join PSG. I could have joined them a year earlier before I moved to Manchester but it didn’t happen. But I think my destiny was to go to Paris.
That last partof the statement in particular only fuelled the growing hate United fans had for Di Maria and as a result, a video of angry supporters had emerged of them singing a hateful chant about him. Months later, Di Maria would add salt to the United supporters’ wound, taking digs at their poor form during the 2015-16 season. I left and that team is still playing the same way.
Out of the European competitions, far from being the champions of the Premier League, I don’t think it was my fault or the fault of my teammates. Every time I was given the opportunity, I did all I could but it didn’t work out as I hoped. So I decided to leave, not only to be happy but to win things.
And Di Maria was hesitant to cover old ground as he’d have another pop-up van Haal for playing him out of position during his time at United. The following day, the media would ask Louis if he thought the criticism he received was fair and he didn’t hold back, finally sharing his thoughts on the long-winded saga.
I have never seen players who look to the way they have performed here and that’s always the fault of the manager. So he is one of the players who are in the row of players who have no self-criticism. And it seemed like van Haal wasn’t alone in his assessment, with some online fans criticising Di Maria’s lack of effort, whilst others claimed that he was being outperformed by other players after returning from his injury.
For all of you who don’t remember and are jumping into the Louis van Haal hate show, after his injury, Di Maria was kept on the bench by an incredibly informed Ashley Young. And ironically, this wouldn’t be the last time that Ashley Young put Di Maria in his place.
A few months later, PSG would pay a visit to Old Trafford in the first set of the Round of 16 fixtures in a Champions League. Anticipation of Di Maria’s return had been building amongst the Manchester United fanbase, with some even predicting that he may be booed on his comeback to Old Trafford.
And despite the minority of fans agreeing that booing him would only motivate him to play better, that wasn’t going to stop the Old Trafford crowd from getting on his back, heckling him from the very second he got on the ball.
This would carry on throughout the entire game, with cheers being the loudest whenever Di Maria missed a good chance to put his team ahead. However, the loudest cheer of the entire night would only come a couple of minutes after, when Ashley Young barged into Di Maria, sending him flying down the pitch and into the advertisement boards.
Despite being a bit sore, Angel managed to get back on his feet and carried on playing. However, he couldn’t manage to influence the game, and the half ended with the score being 0-0, but that would quickly change.
Di Maria seemingly came out in the second half with a point to prove, delivering a lovely corner to set up PSG’s opening goal in the 52nd minute. As a response to the abuse he was getting in the first half, he taunted the United fans by celebrating in front of them and telling them to F off.
As you’d expect, this would only fire up the crowd even more, and as he was about to take another corner, a bottle of Heineken was thrown in his direction. Rather than reacting negatively, Di Maria played along, pretending to take a sip of the beer before tossing it aside.
In the end, Di Maria would have the last laugh, as he charmed the crowd after delivering a ball on the platter for Mbappé, who slotted it in to make it 2-0. The game ended with PSG going into the second leg with the advantage, and with Di Maria having settled the score with the United fans, or so it seemed.
United travelled to Paris for the return leg of the fixture, and would get off to a dream start, with Romelu Lukaku scoring just 2 minutes in. PSG would equalise in just 10 minutes, but Manchester United were on a mission, and it wasn’t too long before Lukaku found the net again to restore their lead.
PSG mainly dominated the second half, with Di Maria converting a chance to make it 2-2 until it was ruled offside. However, their best chance would come in the 83rd minute, when Mbappé broke through one on one with the keeper, but stumbled at the crucial moment.
Then, just 7 minutes later, Diogo Delo fired a shot from outside of the box, winning Manchester United a penalty after it took a deflection off of a PSG defender’s arm. Under intense pressure, Rashford stood up to take the penalty, keeping his cool and buried a powerful shot, sealing off an unforgettable comeback in Paris.
As the final whistle blew, Di Maria could only watch in stunned silence, as United’s players celebrated their dramatic victory. United fans were absolutely buzzing with the win, and as a result, took this as an opportunity to make fun of Di Maria, with countless memes flooding the internet.
Di Maria kept quiet for a while, but about a year later, his wife Jorgelina shared her experience about her time living in Manchester for the first time ever.
I remember Angle coming up and saying, an offer from Manchester United has come in. Maybe we’ll be a little bit more financially secure. But we thought about it. I told him, not a chance, he could go on his own. There was a lot of money involved, and afterwards, the Spanish were calling us peseteros, people only interested in money. And they were right. If you’re working for a company, and the competition comes along, and offers to pay double, you take it.
Jorgelina went on to say how she had been to Manchester with Di Maria previously, when they went to visit Sergio Aguero and his wife, which only made her more resistant to the idea of living there.
It was horrible. All of it was horrible. We went to the house, and we were like, see you guys later, we’re out of here. When we left, I said to him, go to any country except England. Anyway, one year later, there we were in England, and it was horrible.
A shithole. As expected, Jorgelina’s comments didn’t sit well with United fans, with some clapping. well with United fans, with some clapping back on social media. Di Maria would only make things worse for himself a year and a half later, as he’d be asked about wearing the iconic number 7 shirt for Manchester United.
I didn’t give a f*** about the Manchester United number 7, it was just a shirt. And although most fans found his comment disrespectful, others seemed quite confused considering the fact that he had the number tattooed on his arm. And whilst others clarified that he was specifically talking about Manchester United’s number 7 shirt, there was no escaping from the fact that he spoke so highly of it when he first joined the club.
And although Di Maria has kept quiet on Manchester United since he made those comments, he’d be the topic on everyone’s lips after a quote from an ex-PSG teammate of his would go viral on the 7th of August 2024. Marcin Bulka said:
Di Maria hates Manchester United so much.
He doesn’t have one good memory from the club.
Whenever we watched their games on the TV, he told us to change the channel.
He can’t stand them.
Some United fans expressed their animosity toward Di Maria with this quote tweet getting over 22,000 likes and 4 million views. This moment became so iconic for Manchester United fans that it was even turned into a billboard on the way to Old Trafford in September of 2024.
And despite it being clear that a portion of United fans still hated Di Maria even a decade after he joined the club, it’s hard to argue that having a bad injury, not getting along with the manager and having your house burgled all in one year isn’t a good reason to want to leave your club and go to another country.
And in hindsight, it would be the right choice for Di Maria considering that he’s got an amazing goal and assist record, won various trophies including.
