Argentina great and Rosario Central forward Angel Di Maria relished a sensational four-year stint at Real Madrid before departing in 2014. And, he has opened up on the rumors stating that he left Los Blancos for not being offered Cristiano Ronaldo-level wages.
Former Real Madrid Winger Rubbishes Cristiano Ronaldo Rumors
During a recent chat with AS, 2022 FIFA World Cup winner Di Maria was asked whether the manner of his Real Madrid exit ahead of the 2014-15 campaign was hurtful for him.
“Yes, because I didn’t want to leave Real Madrid. It was said then that I wanted to earn the same as Cristiano Ronaldo, but that was a lie. How could I expect to earn the same wages as someone who has won several Ballon d’Or awards? I was very happy and I had just won the Champions League,” the former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) attacker replied.
Di Maria, who joined Los Blancos from Benfica in July 2010, revealed that he was indirectly pushed to leave the La Liga giants after James Rodriguez’s arrival from AS Monaco.
“(Carlo) Ancelotti didn’t want me to leave either, but James had arrived, and I was the one who was likely to leave. I tried to stay until the very last day. I intended to keep training. I played in the first leg of the (Supercopa de Espana final) against Atletico Madrid (in August 2014),” the two-time Copa America-winning attacker continued.
Di Maria also claimed that he was not aware of Los Blancos reaching a deal worth over $88 million with Premier League side Manchester United at the start of the 2014-15 term.
READ MORE: Angel Di Maria Names ‘Number One’ Quality of Cristiano Ronaldo
“But they didn’t even call me up for the second leg as they’d already reached an agreement with Manchester United, something I wasn’t aware of. I had to watch from home as Atletico won the final. Sometimes these things happen and it happened to me,” Di Maria said.
Di Maria, who played alongside Ronaldo 166 times across competitions at Real Madrid, won a total of six silverwares during his time at the La Liga giants. He found the back of the net 36 times and laid out 85 assists in 190 overall outings for Los Merengues.
The left-footed winger failed to live up to expectations at Manchester United in the 2014-15 season. He registered four goals and 11 assists in 32 total games for the Red Devils before securing a permanent transfer worth $75 million to PSG in the summer of 2015.
