English Premier League club Manchester United set a British transfer record when they paid 59.7 million pounds ($98 million) to Spanish La Liga giants Real Madrid for Argentine international winger Angel di Maria. The 26-year-old then agreed to terms on a five-year deal with his new team. The previous British transfer-fee record was the 50 million pounds Chelsea paid to fellow Premier League side Liverpool for Spanish international striker Fernando Torres back in 2011.
Man United appears the need as much help as they can get after struggling for the past year. The club failed to qualify for any European tournaments this season after finishing in seventh place in the league in 2014/14. Former manager David Moyes was fired after less than a season in charge earlier this year after taking over from Sir Alex Ferguson. Louis van Gaal was named the team’s new manager this summer and took over the team after coaching Holland at this year’s World Cup in Brazil.
However, Van Gaal has yet to win a game after United were beaten 2-1 at home at Old Trafford in their season opener by Swansea City and could then manage just a 1-1 draw at Sunderland in their second match. To make matters worse they were then completely embarrassed 4-0 by third-tier team MK Dons in the English League Cup (Capital One Cup) in a road game on August 26. Van Gaal is thankful to have Di Maria in the lineup and told the media, “Angel is a world-class midfielder, but most importantly he is a team player. There is no doubting his immense natural talent. “His ability to take on and beat opponents are a joy to watch and he’s an excellent addition to the team.”
Di Maria claimed that he agreed to move to Manchester because of Van Gaal’s presence even though the team is out of Europe this season. He said he enjoyed his stint with Real Madrid and several clubs showed an interest in him, but United is the only team he would have left Madrid for. He added that Van Gaal is an excellent coach and manager with a proven track record and he can’t wait to take the pitch for the first time with his new teammates.
Di Maria can play as a midfielder as well as a winger. He honed his skills as a youngster with the youth academy at the Rosario Central club in Argentina. He signed with Portuguese team Benfica in 2007 and won a pair of League Cups and a league championship with them. He then left the Portuguese capital in 2010 to join Real Madrid. He won the La Liga crown in 2012 as well as the 2014 European Champions League. Internationally, Di Maria has played for his homeland of Argentina 52 times and has scored 10 goals. He missed the semifinal and final of the 2014 World Cup due to injury.
Van Gaal has now spent a total of 72 million pounds since taking over at United just a few weeks ago. He has signed English international defender Luke Shaw, Argentine international defender Marcos Rojo and Spanish international midfielder Ander Herrera. Di Maria hopes to make his United debut on Saturday, August 30 against Burnley at Turfmoor Stadium in Burnley.
By Ian Palmer
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