PSG's Angel Di Maria reveals why Louis van Gaal was the reason he left Manchester United
PSG’s new signing Angel Di Maria has revealed that his short spell with Manchester United was due to his failure to build a working relationship with the United boss Louis Van Gaal. The Argentine has confirmed he had numerous rows with the Dutch coach which made him decide to leave Old Trafford this summer, according to ESPN.
The 27-year-old arrived in Manchester last August and became the most expensive player in the Premier League for a record fee of £59.7 million after Real Madrid forced the Argentine out of the club. Di Maria was an influential figure in La Decima winning campaign for the Los Blancos side.
Despite having a good start to his Manchester United career, Di Maria had an injury setback and he was then forced to play out of position by Van Gaal when he returned to the side. It was a disappointing end to the midfielder’s debut season with Manchester United making 32 appearances in all competitions and scoring only 4 goals.
The Old Trafford supporters were also disappointed with his hasty decision to leave the Manchester club after just one season. They had expected their record-breaking signing to fight his way back to the team.
Difficult to adapt to Van Gaal’s philosophy: Di Maria
During negotiations, PSG coach Laurent Blanc had monitored the Argentine’s situation and assured him that he would be used in his favoured role. Di Maria failed to adapt life in the Premier League and made a quick switch to Paris Saint-Germain for £44 million.
"Van Gaal has his philosophy and one of the things that made me want to leave is that," Di Maria said. "It is difficult to adapt to Van Gaal. I had a couple of rows with him.
“I started well [at United] and after that I got injured. Things didn't go well for me and Van Gaal changed my position.
“I spoke with [Laurent] Blanc and his thinking was that I'd play in a similar position to where I did at Real Madrid.”
Di Maria shines on PSG debut
Angel Di Maria had already got off the mark for his new club, picking up an assist in PSG’s impressive 3-0 win over AS Monaco. The Argentine produced a delightful pass to Ezequiel Lavezzi who went on to score on the night.
"I didn't imagine a reception like this," Di Maria added. "It was the most beautiful presentation I have ever had. The truth is that I'm happy to come to PSG and to have teammates like Lavezzi and [Javier] Pastore."