Having played like a drunken version of the Angel Di Maria seen in Real Madrid white for the majority of his time in England, the Argentine international’s stay at Manchester United lasted just one season.
After bagging a couple of goals early on in his United career, his £59.7m arse was soon collecting splinters from the Old Trafford bench, while the likes of Ashley Young and Marouane Fellaini forced themselves ahead of him in the pecking order.
Inevitably, Di Maria left United just over a year after his arrival, with Paris Saint-Germain happy enough to fork out another eye-watering fee for him.
Di Maria is now flourishing in the highly competitive French league and will return to Manchester to face City in a Champions League quarter final.
Ahead of the games against City, Di Maria has lifted the lid on his time at United, explaining that despite his best efforts, things simply didn’t turn out the way he wanted them to.
“Every time I was given the opportunity I did the best I could but it didn’t work out,” Di Maria told BBC Sport’s Football Focus.
“I decided to leave, not only to be happy, but to win things.”
Ouch.
Di Maria also claims that Louis van Gaal’s tendency to play him out of position had a negative impact on his consistency.
“I started a game in a position, and then the next one I would be in another.
“I scored goals playing in one position, and then suddenly the next game I was picked to play in a different position.
“It’s more that they didn’t let me settle properly than I couldn’t settle,” Di Maria added.
“I left a team that was out of the European competition and far away from being champions of the Premier League.
“I don’t think it was my fault or the fault of my team mates.”
So, reading between the lines then, it was all Louis’ fault.
