Angel Di Maria and PSG, a business that works. In the field of course, with a 2019-20 season accomplished individually for the 32-year-old Argentinian, at the top of his game, but also in the city. So much so that the former Madrilenian, European champion in 2014 under the orders of Carlo Ancelotti, remained in Paris during the confinement, when many of his South American teammates crossed the Atlantic. "Paris is my city today, so it was natural to go through this period here," he explains, in an interview with L'Equipe.. Recruited in 2015, Di Maria also ensures that he immediately felt "at (his) home". Suddenly, he does not see himself leaving the club in the capital right away, he who is at the end of his contract in 2021. “Ending my career in Europe with PSG is the only thing I want and have in head, he says. I am happy here, my family too. ” It remains to be seen whether the idyll could extend beyond 2021. "As for the rest, I don't know for the moment," he eludes. No discussions have been initiated and this is not my intention at this time. I want to focus on the field, the rest will come later. ”
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And precisely, the field, it will be necessary to wait to find it, after the final cessation of the Ligue 1 season. Too bad, because Di Maria had started on high bases since the start of the season. "What a lack of luck that everything stopped, I lived a season without the slightest cloud, without injury, I had good matches!", He plagues. The Argentinian was indeed one of the most consistent Parisians, with 11 goals and 21 assists in 37 games. By the way, he won his second title of best passer. In addition to the coronation in Ligue 1, of course.
"If I could bring the C1 to the supporters before leaving, it would be perfect to close our story"
Angel Di MariaAnd what before the Champions League, in August, if the competition resumes as you might think? Di Maria recognizes that stopping L1 does not help PSG in this quest. Especially since the rest of the competition has resumed or will resume… "It shouldn't be an excuse but it makes things more difficult for us", he summarizes. Remember that PSG has already qualified for the quarter-finals of the Big Ears Cup. Cup that Angel Di Maria hopes to offer to Parisian supporters. "It would be magnificent," he swears, "still in this long interview with L'Equipe . Not only to win the event, but because of the affection I have for the club and for its ultras. I have the feeling that over the past two seasons, I have won the respect of the supporters. Mentally, it changed a lot when I felt that they encouraged me more, that they sang for me. It gave me a lot of strength, I try to thank them for what I do on the field. If I could bring them the C1 before leaving, it would be perfect for closing our story. ” No doubt that this kind of gift would make the Parisian people happy…
Di Maria looks back on his real-fake transfer to Barcelona in 2017
While Neymar and Kylian Mbappé had just landed in Paris, in 2017, Angel Di Maria for a time seemed close to a departure, in Barcelona. The Argentinian international returns to this episode for L'Equipe : “I was very happy in Paris. But people at the club at the time told me some things, which turned out to be lies in the end. Barça tried to get me to come. The two clubs discussed but the PSG did not want to sell me and that ended there. These lies annoyed me a lot but, in the end, not leaving was a good thing because I am very happy in Paris. ” In 2017-18, Di Maria had to wait a long time on the bench, behind the trio Neymar-Cavani-Mbappé, before taking advantage of the injury of the first named to find a starting place in the eleven of Unai Emery. Place that Thomas Tuchel immediately gave him when he arrived on the Parisian bench in 2018. And this is still the case in 2019-20, with a tailor-made 4-4-2.
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