By Mike Parrott
Wayne Rooney has revealed the reason he believes that why Angel Di Maria flopped at Manchester United. The Argentine only spent one season at United before being sold to Paris Saint-Germain.
Angel Di Maria joined Manchester United back in 2014 as the marquee signing of Louis Van Gaal's first summer as United manager.
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With the Argentine joining for then-British transfer record of £59.7 million, Di Maria was tasked to bring creativity from central positions or the wing in a United team devoid of it.
However, Di Maria's stay at United didn't go as planned, leaving the next summer to Paris Saint-Germain after scoring four goals and registering 12 assists. The stats make Di Maria not look as bad as he was with no goals in the league after October.
According to former teammate and then-captain of United, Wayne Rooney, Di Maria's downfall and overall drop in ability was due to the infamous burglary of his house.
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"He's a wonderful player," said Rooney in his column for The Sunday Times.
"When he came to United I remember Louis van Gaal saying to the team: 'He is the only one who is allowed to dribble with the ball.'
"Angel works tirelessly on the pitch and his delivery, vision and awareness is brilliant.
"He could have been a major star at United but at the time we were going through a bit of a transition and it was tough for him to settle. He had young kids and lived a couple of houses down from me and someone tried to burgle him. I remember that really shook him and his family.
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"From then on, really, you knew it was going to be tough for him and it was probably better for him to leave."
Di Maria also supposedly fell out with Van Gaal which led to him being left out of the starting XI for Ashley Young. The dropping of Di Maria arguably led to United's best football at the time since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement.
The Argentine's lies of saying he was committed to United to then leave one month later also didn't sit well with fans with him still one of United's most ever hated players.
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What do you think of Rooney's reasoning behind the flop of Angel Di Maria?
Let us know in the comments below.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Paris Saint-Germain, Angel Di Maria, Manchester United, Wayne Rooney
