Real Madrid: Why the Club Were Wrong to Sell Angel Di Maria

Angel Di Maria’s emergence as Real Madrid’s all-action midfield dynamo last season was as unforeseen as it was spectacular.

On the brink of a move away during the final days of the 2013 summer transfer period, Carlo Ancelotti stepped in to block the sale of Di Maria, with the need for balance and natural width in the Real side fuelling the intervention.

Instead, it was Mesut Ozil who found himself out the door of the Bernabeu; not so much because the German was unwanted but more that the club needed to raise cash after the signing of Gareth Bale from Tottenham.

A year, one Copa del Rey and the club’s 10th European Cup later, Di Maria made his exit from the Spanish capital.

Had it not been for the shackles of Financial Fair Play, the versatile midfielder would likely have been playing his football for Paris Saint-Germain. The destination instead was Manchester United, with plenty of expectation (and hope) that Di Maria would be one to help lead United out and away from the mire of last season.

Whichever way you cut it, there can be no justification for Di Maria’s sale by Real Madrid this past summer, with supporting blocks of such a notion found in the performances and results of the team at the start of the campaign.

Heading into the international break, Real were on a winning streak of six games in all competitions (though the upcoming fixtures, which include Liverpool and Barcelona, will provide a means to measure how much progress there has been).

In addition, Cristiano Ronaldo was doing all he could to ensure the attention was firmly on him: three hat-tricks in his last four league games for the club.

But would Ancelotti’s side have fallen so easily at the Anoeta in August after cruising to an early 2-0 lead against Real Sociedad with Di Maria on hand? The Basques took advantage of Real’s lack of direction and defensive protection from midfield, clawing back and then going all out for the win with four unanswered goals.

Di Maria, defiant in his performances last season, wasn’t about to let the arrival of Bale push him away from regular first-team football. The Welshman experienced complications during his first season in Spain due to fitness issues, and Di Maria didn’t question the extending of such a favourable offering.

Quite simply, Di Maria became too good to drop, to such an extent that Ancelotti switched to a formation resembling 4-3-3, allowing the Argentine the freedom to roam during attacking phases but trusting his industry to aid defensively.

Di Maria’s inspirational play was quick to show itself upon his arrival in the Premier League. His goal against Leicester City—albeit on the end of a 5-3 defeat—was sublime, while his creativity has only hammered home the previously long-standing absurdity of United failing to buy such a player for so long.

There may have been little Real Madrid could have done with regards to Xabi Alonso’s exit this past summer to Bayern Munich.

Pep Guardiola, with injuries weighing heavy, needed another midfield option, while Alonso, taking the opportunity to go out on a high having won the biggest prize in club football last season, was keen to learn from the former Barcelona manager.

But with Di Maria, there was plenty to fight for. Unfortunately, he’s far from the glamour icon that Ronaldo is, and, arguably most importantly, his impressive form last season was all done in a Real Madrid shirt. For a president like Florentino Perez who loves the Hollywood lights of a major summer coup, where was the thrill of the chase?

James Rodriguez’s arrival from Monaco for £63 million meant, like last year, a player had to be sacrificed in order to help balance the books.

Just as Ozil was sold after the purchase of Bale, Di Maria was at the head of the queue to make way for James. Manchester United's pressing need for a statement in the way of a new arrival gave Real Madrid the opportunity they were looking for.

But Real didn’t need James. Having bought Isco a year earlier, there is nothing the former Monaco star can do that can’t be offered by the Spaniard.

Di Maria, on the other hand, is one-of-a-kind, certainly in terms of what Ancelotti has at his disposal.

The headache now is to restructure a team that announced itself as the best in Europe last season. The winning formula is out the window and, as we’ve seen through early patchy results, something new, balanced and convincing that works to all the players’ strengths is proving tricky to come by.