Andy Mitten
Real Madrid’s president walked to the side of the pitch in the Michigan Stadium, America’s largest sports venue with a capacity of 114,000. Florentino Perez was there to watch his team train before their sold-out pre-season friendly with Manchester United, and he wanted to inspect the jewels of his crown.
When somebody asked if Madrid would be selling winger Angel di Maria, Perez shrugged.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti dismissed questions about Di Maria as speculation, but the probing came because the Argentine’s future was uncertain, especially since he wanted to renegotiate his contract from EU€4 million (Dh19.4m) a year to double that. Madrid offered €6m.
Di Maria was happy in Madrid, but with the arrival of James Rodriguez, he would no longer be one of the pin-up boys.
Perez had to carefully manage his dealing with Di Maria, since the winger was hugely popular with fans and teammates, was one of the club’s top performers over the past four seasons, and was a big-game figure who played all 120 minutes of May’s Champions League final.
Madrid will claim that they did everything possible to keep him and will hint at his huge wage demands, but it is not true. They wanted to cash in, just as they did with Mesut Ozil a year ago.
They will lose a versatile player who can play anywhere across the midfield and was once used effectively as a left-back by Jose Mourinho. As an indicator of his boundless energy and stamina, Di Maria dribbled past three Atletico players in extra time in Lisbon before managing a shot on goal.
And that after starting 52 competitive games for Madrid last season. He made 22 assists in league play, more than any player in Spain, and scored in the Copa del Rey final win over Barcelona.
As Madrid celebrated their 10th European Cup in Lisbon, Fideo (his nickname is “noodle”, because he is tall and slim) was awarded the man-of-the-match award and presented the trophy by Sir Alex Ferguson. It also came 14 months after his daughter Mia was born three months premature and given a 30 per cent survival chance. She is now a healthy baby who will make Manchester her home.
It was the zenith of his fourth season at the club, which he joined following a poor 2010 World Cup with Argentina. Di Maria may have scored the goal that won Argentina the 2008 Olympic Games, but his €30m transfer fee then seemed excessive.
Yet Mourinho insisted that he could repeat the form he had shown at Benfica, where he was a 2010 league champion, in Spain. There were private utterances that Mourinho’s insistence was because he shared the same agent as the player, but Di Maria was on relatively low wages of €2m per year.
Within months, doubts vanished. Di Maria was exceptionally quick and very skilful.
“One on one, he’s devastating,” Maradona said. “Give him 10 one-on-ones and he’ll win out eight times. He’s a fantastic player.”
That was not a solitary sentiment.
“Angel has the kind of personality that makes him think everything is possible,” Mourinho said.
Used as a left-winger who exploited space created as Madrid’s vaunted front line pulled defences apart, Di Maria in full flow was a fine sight – as was the case against Manchester City in a 2012 Champions League game as Madrid came from behind to win 3-2.
He became integral to Mourinho’s plans, a Madrid regular in the side that won the league in 2012. His contract was doubled to its current €4m, not excessive in the Madrid dressing room, but a fortune given his humble roots in Rosario.
Born and raised in the home city of Lionel Messi – the pair often flew back to South America together for Argentina games – Di Maria was initially rejected by Rosario Central, one of the city’s two major clubs. But by 2005, and following a “fee” of 25 footballs paid to his junior club, he was established in the first team among the yellow-and-blue concrete stands at Gigante, where he stayed for two years until he was signed by Benfica.
The €75m sale to United is the largest in Real Madrid’s history, easily eclipsing the €45m that Arsenal paid for Ozil and the €42m Manchester City paid for Robinho. It is also the most that United have paid for a player.
The Old Trafford club hope manager Louis van Gaal will elevate their new acquisition to an even higher level, where he can become a star in a team lacking game changers and creative talent behind Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie. The expectations will almost be as high as his transfer fee.
sports@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter @SprtNationalUAE