SPECIAL REPORT: Man United's record British signing has beenblinked with Barcelona after a poor first season at Old Trafford, but a move is unlikely this summer
When Angel Di Maria joined Manchester United last summer, it was considered proof that the club remained an elite power in world football.
Even without European competition, United were able to attract a top-class talent who had been one of the driving forces in Real Madrid's La Decima triumph just months earlier. The cost was a British record transfer fee of £59.7 million andaround £300,000 a week in wages – and those two numbers arethe reasons why Di Maria is likely to remain a United player next season.
Di Maria has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford after a difficult first season at the club, but United would want to recoup their initial outlay and the player will not accept a wage cut to leave.
It leaves less than a handful of clubs in a position where they have the financial means to sign the Argentine. Barcelona have been credited with an interest in Di Maria, believed to be driven by the midfielder's compatriot and close friend Lionel Messi.
But the European champions are banned from playing any newly signed players until January, while a more commanding midfielder such as Paul Pogba is believed to be their priority in any case.
There is also believed to be a clause in the agreement between Manchester United and Real Madrid that would force Barcelona to pay £10m to their bitter rivals should Di Maria move to Camp Nou.
Bayern Munich could afford to sign Di Maria but already have the likes of Arjen Robben, Thomas Muller, Franck Ribery and Mario Gotze who can play in his attacking positions; while Paris Saint-Germain are still hamstrung by the Financial Fair Play regulations
that forced them to pull out of a deal for the Argentina
international last summer when everything appeared to have been agreed.
That means Di Maria will have a second season in Manchester to make sure he is not remembered as the biggest flop in Premier League history.
He made 33 appearances for United in all competitions last season but found himself watching from the substitutes' bench for the final three months of the campaign. He last completed 90 minutes in the FA Cup against Preston in February and struggled to fit in to manager Louis van Gaal's system and demands. He will find his opportunities further limited next season following the arrival of Memphis Depay from PSV for around £23m, a transfer driven by Van Gaal's desire to be reunited with a player who he brought into the Netherlands squad.
Di Maria's United career started well enough as he scored three goals in his first five Premier League appearances, but he failed to score again for the rest of the season as the early promise quickly evaporated. He registered a total of 10 assists in the Premier
League but found himself substituted 13 times from his 20 starts in the top flight.
Di Maria's style – direct and aggressive dribbling – did not match with Van Gaal's desire for patient and methodical build-up play and he admitted in May that he was disappointed with the level of his performances.
"I'm not happy with my first year in England," Di Maria said. "I moved here from Real to win titles and this season has been verybad for me. I'm frustrated because I want to do better.
"The fans in England have not seen the real Di Maria. I know I can offer a better level. This year was not good enough."
The former Benfica man was not helped by a hamstring injury in November, while off the pitch he found it difficult to settle in a completely different culture and with a very poor grasp of English.
Those off-field problems were exacerbated when burglars attempted to break into his home after United's 3-1 home victory over Leicester City in January. Di Maria and his family have not returned to the property and spent several months living in a city centre hotel in
Manchester.
Van Gaal, for his part, suggested that Di Maria's main problem has been his inability to take on instructions. The Dutchman is renowned for his almost obsessive attention to detail and his desire for players to think tactically while on the pitch."The players have had to adapt to the philosophy and Di Maria has to do that," Van Gaal said last month.
"He can still do that, of course, because every player can but it's important that he wants to do that in his head. "When you are open to coaching, then you can change but a change of behaviour is very difficult.
Always, the old errors are comingbac k so a change of behaviour is not so easy so we have to wait and see.
"It's not that Di Maria doesn't have the quality. He has to perform in a way that we want. Not in the way I want but in the way we want as a club."
Di Maria still has four years left on the United contract he signed last August – and he must start adapting if he is to force his way in to Van Gaal's plans and justify his status as the most expensive player in British football.
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