‘Di Maria hated Man Utd spell & Neymar couldn’t be Ronaldo’ – Bulka offers insight into PSG colleagues

Angel Di Maria “hated his time at Manchester United” and Neymar could never manage the “rigorous training” regime of Cristiano Ronaldo, says the pair’s Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Marcin Bulka.

A star-studded cast has been assembled at Parc des Princes, with the intention being to complement domestic dominance with long-awaited European glory.

Big money has been spent chasing down that target, with Argentina international Di Maria among those to have been drafted in.

He was offered an escape route from Old Trafford in the summer of 2015, with a forgettable one-season stint having been spent in England.

Bulka claims that the South American holds no fond memories of that period of his career, with the former Real Madrid playmaker eager to forget all about the Red Devils.

The promising Polish goalkeeper told Foot Truck of Di Maria: “He hated his time at Manchester United, doesn’t have good memories from there.

“Whenever there is a Manchester United game on any screen he switches to something else.”

Di Maria is currently lining up alongside Neymar in a fearsome attacking unit at PSG, with the Brazilian forward considered to be a different kind of superstar to Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Bulka added: “Guy sure likes to change his hairstyle. He dances before the games, that seems to be a Brazilian thing.

“Honestly if he had rigorous training like CR7, I don’t think he would be as good as he is. Brazilians need to be relaxed to play at the top level.”

Getty Images

Another of those shining for PSG at present is Kylian Mbappe, with the exciting frontman already a three-time Ligue 1 champion and World Cup winner at just 21 years of age.

“Beast. When he accelerates there is nothing you can do,” said Bulka.

“But also a cool guy, only one year older than me, which is weird because he’s already experienced so much and it feels like he has been around forever.

“He reminds me of Ronaldo (Fenomeno), he has a very direct style of shooting.”

Marco Verratti is another current colleague that Bulka holds in the highest regard, with the combative Italian a lively presence on and off the field.

“His reactions and speed of thinking on the pitch is out of this world,” said Bulka.

“You watch him and you think he has a camera on the back of his head. He’s the engine of the team, or more like a metronome. The team’s build up tempo relies on him.

“One time we were coming back from the game and were sitting in front of the departure screen at an airport. When a flight to Barcelona popped out, our coach was like: ‘Guys, keep an eye on Neymar’. When there was a flight to Ibiza, he went: ‘Watch out for Marco guys!’”

PSG find themselves back at the top of Ligue 1 this season, but do have work to do in their latest Champions League campaign after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their last-16 encounter.