'He only talked about mistakes' - Angel Di Maria blasts ex-Man Utd coach for making time at Old Trafford 's**t'

Di Maria got off to a flying start for United, scoring and getting an assist in a 4-0 thrashing of Queens Park Rangers in his home debut. He also scored and assisted in his next game against Leicester City although that match ended in a 5-3 defeat. He was on target again against Everton in his seventh appearance but things soon unravelled and he only scored one more goal before leaving for Paris Saint-Germain, signing off a hugely disappointing spell at the Red Devils with four goals and 11 assists in 32 appearances.

The footballer and his family also suffered a traumatic incident when their house was broken into by thieves while they were at home. But the biggest factor in him failing to deliver and wanting to leave so soon was the breakdown in his relationship with coach Louis van Gaal, who was fiercely critical with Di Maria whenever he made a mistake during a game such as giving the ball away.

Di Maria and former team-mate Ander Herrera have spoken about that unhappy year in 'Angel di Maria: Breaking down the Wall',  an upcoming Netflix documentary about the Argentine's career.

Di Maria said: "We were winning, I was making assists and scoring, but he didn’t mention that. He only ever wanted to talk about the mistakes. Identifying and learning from your mistakes is crucial, of course. But given my position as a forward, I’m bound to make mistakes because I’m always trying. My job is to always go for an assist or take a shot on goal."

Former United midfielder Herrera, who spent five years at United, added: "Van Gaal was the type of coach who was very critical when analysing his players’ actions. And I found it surprising that he considered it unacceptable for Angel to make three or four mistakes per game. It reached a point where things just got out of hand. Compared to everyone else on the team, it seemed like the coach was being way stricter with him. Eventually, I think all the criticism ended up undermining Angel’s confidence."

Di Maria explained that the spotlight was on him due to the fanfare following his signing and he gave a brutally honest assessment of his solitary season at United. He explained: "I had sold more jerseys than anyone else upon my arrival to the Premier League, so I was finding myself under a lot of pressure. Really, that year was s***."

As well as the player having a difficult relationship with Van Gaal, his wife Jorgelina Cardoso was deeply unhappy in Manchester. Indeed, she never wanted to move there in the first place after disliking it during a visit to see Sergio Aguero after he had signed for Manchester City. She revealed: "I didn’t want to go to Manchester because at that moment in time, I was friends with Gianinna Maradona, who was married to [Sergio] Aguero, and we flew from Madrid to his house in Manchester to pay him a visit for two or three days when Angel had a few days off at Real Madrid.

"It was horrible! All of it was horrible, we went to the house and we were like... ‘See you later guys, we’re out of here’. When we left, I said to him, ‘Go to any country – except England’. Anyway, one year later and there we were in England and it was horrible, a sh**hole. You’re walking down the street and you don’t know if they’re going to kill you or what. All the girls are all dolled up, perfectly made-up and there’s me with my hair in a bun and with no make-up on."

The Argentine did not let his nightmare season in Manchester drag him down, however. He scored 92 goals and contributed 120 assists for PSG in a trophy-laded seven year spell while also going on to win three consecutive trophies with Argentina, the Copa America in 2021 and 2024 as well as finally lifting the World Cup, scoring in the final against France. The 38-year-old is now seeing out his career back in his home country with his boyhood club Rosario Central.