Angel Di Maria Comments on Louis van Gaal, Transfer to PSG

Angel Di Maria didn't enjoy his time at Manchester United working with manager Louis van Gaal. Paris Saint-Germain's new arrival made that brutally clear with a verbal roasting of United boss Van Gaal and his tactics.

Di Maria was speaking to ESPN Radio Argentina (h/t the English arm of Catalan newspaper Sport):

"

Van Gaal has his philosophy and one of the things that made me want to leave is that.

It is difficult to adapt to Van Gaal. I had a couple of rows with him. I started well and after that I got injured. Things didn't go well for me and Van Gaal changed my position. 

I spoke with [Laurent] Blanc and his thinking was that I'd play in a similar position to where I did at Real Madrid.

"

Di Maria also described how "happy" he is to be in Paris and how the reception he's received in Ligue 1 has wowed him.

While there's naturally some revisionist history going on here, Di Maria's reference to his position is significant. He was often deployed wide after arriving at United for a British transfer record £59.7 million just last summer.

But it was former Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti who got the best out of the mercurial Argentina star in the 2013/14 season. Ancelotti moved Di Maria off the wing and into a central role behind the strikers.

The player responded with 22 assists in La Liga and UEFA Champions League action, according to WhoScored.com. Those contributions helped Los Blacos lift a 10th European Cup.

Di Maria began his stint in the French capital after completing a deal worth over £44 million to join the Ligue 1 champions with a superb assist, per L'Actu Foot:

That helped PSG beat Monaco 3-0 away from home, per BBC Sport. It also provided the perfect illustration of the talent Van Gaal and United never properly utilised at Old Trafford.