Di Maria: No way I'd go anywhere but United

After Angel di Maria left Real Madrid for Manchester United in the summer, his former club’s president claimed that he only joined us for the money.

Di Maria has repeatedly claimed he came to United because he wanted to play somewhere he felt loved. First it was Gareth Bale and then it was James Rodriguez, and our winger realised he was never going to be their star player. He was replaceable as far as they were concerned.

At United, he’s the best player, and the fans worship him, with is just what he deserves.

No, there was never any contact anywhere else. The people who came with all the paperwork, signed and ready, showing real eagerness to sign me were United. As soon as I heard of their interest, there was no question of me going anywhere else. As a player, you’re always going to go somewhere if the club really want to sign you and show willing by putting that amount of money on the table. I think the figure was €75 million. It would be hard for any club to turn that down – even Real Madrid. I felt from the word go that I was going somewhere where I’d be really loved. I’m not saying that I wasn’t loved in Madrid – but that kind of interest that Manchester United showed is hard to turn down.

He was also indebted to Louis van Gaal. “It was him who showed that confidence in me by wanting to sign me,’’ Di María said.