Manchester United are close to signing Real
Madrid winger Angel di Maria for a British-
record transfer fee, according to Sky sources.
The Argentine winger is expected to hold talks
with United next week over a transfer that is
though to be worth up to £56million.
Sky Sports Spanish football expert Guillem
Balague exclusively revealed the news.
“At long last there is significant movement in
the seemingly never ending, ‘Will he stay or
will he go’ saga of Angel di Maria. It now
looks certain that he will leave Real Madrid
and become a Manchester United player. The
final meetings will take place at the beginning
of next week.
“United will pay between 60-70 million Euros
(£48-55m) for the player. More than 60. A
great deal for Madrid.
“I can exclusively reveal that, as we speak
(Saturday night), football agent Jorge Mendes
is on a flight from Singapore – where he has
been putting to bed the purchase of Valencia
by Peter Lim – to Europe, with a view to
sealing the sale of Di Maria to United.
“So advanced, in fact, are the negotiations
that it has already been agreed that Di Maria
will wear the number seven shirt, worn in the
past by no lesser players than David
Beckham, Eric Cantona, Cristiano Ronaldo,
George Best and Bryan Robson.
“As soon as Di Maria knew of Manchester
United’s interest he was very excited about
the possibility of coming to Old Trafford. At
first Paris Saint-Germain showed interest in
singing him and said they were prepared to
meet his wage demands of 8m Euros a year
net but the deal offered by United was much
more interesting to him.
“Firstly, United is a club with much more
prestige throughout Europe, and secondly, it’s
a new project where he knows he will be one
of the leaders. Cristiano Ronaldo has also told
him some great things about United and has
succeeded in persuading him that it is a good
option even though the club is not playing in
Europe this season.
“He is also very excited about the prospect of
working with manager Louis van Gaal and
everyone is expecting that the deal will be
closed soon.
“There is agreement between the club and the
player and it is expected that the
announcement will soon be made official
because the positions of the two clubs are
thought to be very close. United accept the
valuation of the player above the 60m mark
(Real paid 36 million to Benfica in 2010). The
final cost of his transfer will depend on
variables.
“There is absolutely no chance of Di Maria
staying at Real Madrid, because despite just
about everyone from all the players to the
technical staff rating him very highly, Real
Madrid have decided, primarily via their
president Florentino Perez, that Di Maria
cannot carry on at the club.
“It is also thought that as soon as Di Maria
confirms that he will become a United player
he will write a farewell letter to the Madrid
fans explaining the reasons for his departure.
“He is very excited by the prospect and he is
just the sort of player that Van Gaal is looking
for.”
