Amidst a myriad of transfer rumors this summer, Argentine winger, Angel Di Maria has told his current team, Real Madrid that he wants to leave the club. The announcement by Di Maria doesn’t come as much as surprise to those of us in the soccer world as Real needs to recoup some of the money spent on high profile transfers James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos. We reported earlier this summer that Real Madrid had agreed to move Di Maria to Paris Saint-Germain, but those talks have since broken down.
Di Maria’s own proclamation that he wants out of Spain is a clear poker move to Manchester United and PSG who are believed to be the front runners to land the Argentine star. With less than 10 days remaining in the transfer window, Di Maria needs to find a home as soon as possible. Multiple media outlets throughout Europe have reported that it’s going to take around $80 million dollars for either PSG or Man U to get Di Maria, a price that PSG brass apparently balked at a little over a week ago.
For Manchester United, the move to sign Di Maria almost seems like a no brainer. The Red Devils lost their first Premier League match to Swansea last Saturday and fans of United have been clamoring for a marquee transfer for all summer long. New coach, Louis Van Gaal has told others that he was impressed by Di Maria during the World Cup, but his current priorities are on defense and midfield. Rather than back up the truck to sign Di Maria, it is rumored that Van Gaal fancies Di Maria’s Real Madrid teammate, Sami Khedira who also has told Real that he wants to leave the team after the signing of German National teammate, Toni Kroos.
Further complicating matters for Van Gaal is the emergence of Adnan Januzaj. The Belgian born winger has caught the attention of Van Gaal during his short time at United and according to English paper, The Daily Express, Van Gaal believes that Januzaj will make a big impact for United, but he needs more playing time.
It was also reported on Thursday, that Real Madrid superstar and reigning FIFA Balloon D’Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo asked the team not to transfer Di Maria. The message to the club’s decision makers came after the first leg of the Supercopa de Espana that resulted in a 1-1 draw. Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone told reporters after the game that he believed Angel Di Maria was Real Madrid’s best player. Di Maria led the Bernabeu in assists last season and also was La Liga’s assist leader as well. No player capitalized more off those passes than Ronaldo and we have a hunch that is why he asked the team to not transfer Di Maria.
According to Real Madrid’s manager, Carlo Ancelotti, after Ronaldo’s request, the team offered a new contract to Di Maria to get him to stay with the Spanish club, but Di Maria declined and made his position clear: he wants out.
“Di Maria asked to go in the summer and has rejected an offer from the club.” Ancelotti told the media on Thursday. “The player has to look for a solution if when the transfer market closes he’s still here, he will work with us like last season and there will be no problem.”
Apparently, that leaves the decision up to Di Maria who already told the team earlier this month that he preferred to be transferred to PSG. Man U is not eligible to play in the UEFA Champions League this season after a terrible showing last term. The only thing that could lure Di Maria to sign with Old Trafford would be a big payday. However, PSG will be playing in the Champions League this season and has the finances to match or beat any offer United throws at Di Maria, if they will, has yet to be determined.
Earlier this month PSG manager, Laurent Blanc confirmed that the team was interested and in negotiations for Di Maria, but that Real Madrid’s asking price was too high and that a transfer for the Argentine would be “difficult to achieve”. At the time, it was rumored that Real Madrid’s asking price for their precision passer was close to the $80 million being reported, but there are some reports out there that say Manchester United is willing to pay as much as $165 million for Di Maria which would most certainly eliminate any other team from contention.
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