Angel Di Maria attributes his negative experience at Manchester United to former manager Louis van Gaal, stating it led him to 'hate' his time at the club. He felt Van Gaal focused on his shortcomings rather than his strengths.
Key points
Angel Di Maria blamed Louis van Gaal for his unhappy time at Manchester United.
Di Maria felt Van Gaal focused on his negatives, leading him to 'hate' his experience.
Initially, Di Maria's time at United started positively before issues arose.
Van Gaal played Di Maria in multiple positions, which contributed to his frustrations.
Mentioned in this story
Angel Di MariaManchester UnitedLouis van Gaal
Legendary Argentina World Cup winner Angel di Maria has blamed his unhappy spell atManchester Unitedon former boss Louis van Gaal.
In an exclusive interview with BBC Sport, Di Maria says Van Gaal zeroed in on negatives in his game, never the positives, which led him to "hate" being at Old Trafford.
"Things started really well," said Di Maria. "Everything was flowing.
"Then I started to have issues with Van Gaal and from there everything fell apart."
Van Gaal played him in both wide positions, but also used Di Maria in the number 10 role and as a midfielder because he felt the player wasn't doing the job he had been asked to fulfil.
This led to arguments behind the scenes which were only exacerbated by an attempted burglary at his house in Cheshire when he was at home with his young family.
Di Maria joined United on a five-year deal for a British record £59.7m from Real Madrid in August 2014, with the aim of making them champions again under Louis Van Gaal.
However, despite an explosive start, during which Di Maria scored three goals and created four others in his first six games, the move didn't work out and within 12 months, he was demanding to leave.
Louis van Gaal and Angel di MariaImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Louis van Gaal was manager when Manchester United signed Di Maria
There are two sides to every story, of course, and Van Gaal has been asked for his own observations in response to Di Maria's comments.
Firstly, the highly-respected former Netherlands coach said he never asked to sign the player. It was a club decision, which he felt was a mistake.
Secondly, he is a structured manager with a vision about the game, which assigns a job description for every player, and the role they need to carry out.
Van Gaal argues he tried Di Maria in many positions without being about to find one where he was effective.
Nevertheless, Di Maria's criticisms are pointed and personal.
"Like I said, I started really well. Everything was perfect. But then suddenly we started having lots of meetings about all the things I was doing wrong on the pitch," he said.
"He never showed me what I was doing well, just the negatives, over and over. Eventually I got fed up.
Q&A
Why did Angel Di Maria hate his time at Manchester United?
Di Maria hated his time at Manchester United due to his issues with manager Louis van Gaal, who focused on his negatives instead of his positives.
What role did Louis van Gaal assign to Angel Di Maria at Manchester United?
Louis van Gaal played Di Maria in various positions, including wide roles, as a number 10, and as a midfielder, which contributed to Di Maria's frustrations.
What did Angel Di Maria say about his initial time at Manchester United?
Di Maria mentioned that his time at Manchester United started well, with everything flowing smoothly before issues with Van Gaal arose.
How did Angel Di Maria's relationship with Van Gaal affect his performance?
Di Maria's relationship with Van Gaal negatively impacted his performance, leading to a decline in his enjoyment and effectiveness at the club.
See every story in News — including breaking news and analysis.
"Life there was very different. It gets dark really early and then the cold started. Everything kept snowballing. There was also the break-in at my house.
"When all of that happens; when you are not playing, when things aren't going well for you, when you have problems inside the club, it ends up affecting you a lot. It made me hate being there.
"I got robbed in Paris too and still stayed for another two or three years, because life there was good.
"In Manchester, everything just snowballed. I wanted to prioritise my family and that is why I left."
Di Maria's wife Jorgelina Cardoso was also unhappy in Manchester and in an interview with the Daily Mail in 2022, said: "I didn't like it at all. People are all weird. You walk around and you don't know if they're going to kill you. The food is disgusting. The women look like porcelain.
"Angel and I were in Madrid, at the best team in the world, perfect food, perfect weather, everything was perfect. And then came United's proposal.
"I told him 'no way, no way', but he kept saying we will be a little more financially secure and we have to go. We fought about it. I don't blame him for going there. It was horrible.
"I just told him, 'darling, I want to kill myself, it's night time at two o'clock'."
Angel di Maria has helped Rosario Central qualify for the last 16 of the Copa Libertadores with a game to spareImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Angel di Maria played for PSG, Juventus and Benfica before joining childhood club Rosario Central in July 2025
It was March when Van Gaal started to leave Di Maria out of his starting line-up.
By that point, the player, who last summer returned to his boyhood club Rosario Central, had suffered a couple of minor injuries and been sent off in an FA Cup tie with Arsenal.
Once the season came to an end, Di Maria was done with United.
He refused to join the club's pre-season tour to the United States and eventually negotiated a £44.3m move to Paris St Germain.
"He said I never showed up [for pre-season] but I had already said I wanted to leave and that I wasn't going to report back to the club," said Di Maria.
"I stayed in Rosario until a decision was made.
"If you are unhappy, your family is unhappy, if your house gets burgled, you fall out with the manager and things aren't going well, it's very difficult to say I loved my time in Manchester. That is the reality."
Nevertheless, looking back on the period, Di Maria says he made the right decision to come to Manchester in the first place.
"But when it comes to the Premier League, the atmosphere, life at the club, honestly, I was left with a really good feeling because there were great people inside the club who always treated me well, who always supported me and helped me with everything. For that, I'm grateful," he added.
"It was a decision I wanted to make. I wanted to go to United. The football, arriving at the stadiums, the atmosphere, the love from the fans, I don't regret any of it.
"Joining them was incredible. I played as Manchester United on the PlayStation. I used to play with (Wayne) Rooney and suddenly, he was beside me. Of course, I understood the number seven was the biggest shirt number at Manchester United. But to me, it was just a number, like I wore 22 at Madrid."
