Paris St Germain’s midfielder Angel Di Maria admitted that he was close to a move to FC Barcelona this summer. There were several reports which suggested that the Argentinian international had joined the Catalan side on the deadline day, for a sum of 50 million before the news was put down by the midfielder himself.
However, in a recent interview with the ESPN, di Maria spoke about how he nearly joined the Catalan giants in the summer.
“I was close to joining Barcelona – close and far away at the same time,” he told ESPN. “It’s difficult to go to such a club. It wasn’t done, but life sometimes has surprises, you never know.
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It has been a dream for the midfielder to join Barcelona to play alongside his international teammates Lionel Messia and Javier Mascherano only for the midfielder to join their arch-rivals. The 29-year-old played for Barcelona’s rivals Real Madrid four seasons from 2010 to 2014, before his huge summer move to Manchester United.
Nothing significant in getting whistled:
“The chance of going there wasn’t affected by the fact that I had already worn the white of Real Madrid. I might have been whistled at Camp Nou before, but it was nothing significant.” said di Maria
However, the left-footed player found it difficult to play in the Premier League, eventually losing his place in the playing XI demanding an exit from the club. Paris St Germain came calling for the midfielder, who moved to the Parisians and started showing signs of form under the leadership of the Spaniard Unai Emery.
Messi’s old club, the only problem for di Maria:
Di Maria’s first leg performance against Barcelona was one of the reasons that his name was taken so often by the newspapers in Spain.
The midfielder revealed that there would be no problem for him to go to Barcelona, despite his past connection with Real Madrid. However, his only problem would be playing for Messi’s old team Newell’s Old Boys who he considers as his rivals.
“Apart from Newell’s Old Boys, because I am a supporter of Rosario Central, I could play anywhere. And wherever I go, I will always give my maximum,” he concluded.
