Onngel di María gave an extensive interview to this Tuesday’s edition of the Spanish newspaper Asin which he addressed various topics related to Benfica and Real Madrid, clubs he played for and who have a meeting scheduled at Estádio da Luz, counting for the eighth and final round of the Champions League league phase.
The first topic on the ‘agenda’ of the now Rosario Central player was his first spell with the Reds, between 2007 and 2010, in which he scored 15 goals and 25 assists after 125 official games, in all competitions, as well as a series of good performances, which, at the time, led Real Madrid to pay more than 30 million euros to ‘rescue’ him.
“I lived day by day, until, in my third year in Portugal, I exploded to a great level, and offers began to arrive from the big clubs in Europe. When Real Madrid appeared, it was obvious that I couldn’t say no. It’s the biggest club in the world, and it was a privilege to be able to go there”, he began by stating.
“It was a very beautiful challenge, because I reached the highest possible level that a player can reach, at club level,” he added. At the time, the Whites’ coach was… the Portuguese José Mourinho, who now sits on the bench, and ended up reserving a special place in the Argentine international’s heart.
“Mou is number 1, far from the rest, as a person and as a coach, for what he offers the player, the team and the club. He gave me everything, and I will always be grateful to him. He stood up for me so I could go to Real Madrid, after a 2010 World Cup that wasn’t so good in terms of personal performance, and he supported me so I could be by his side”, he added.
“I was very happy at Benfica and Real Madrid, I can’t choose”
Ángel di María also confessed that he will watch Benfica-Real Madrid with a ‘divided heart’: “Real Madrid is almost qualified, and Benfica has a more complicated mission, but I can’t decide. I was very happy in both places, and I can’t choose. May it be what God wants”.
As for the comparisons made between the Merengues’ new helmsman, Álvaro Arbeloa, with whom he shared a dressing room, and José Mourinho, he chose to ‘kick it aside’: “I don’t know what it’s like as a coach. He was a great boy, I liked him and we had a good relationship. He didn’t start well, but he straightened out the direction and it looks like things can go well with him”.
“They said I wanted to earn the same as Cristiano Ronaldo…”
Finally, Ángel di María took the opportunity to put in ‘clean sheets’ the reasons why he chose to leave Manchester United, in the summer of 2014, heading to Manchester United, in exchange for a sum of around 75 million euros, ensuring that it had nothing to do with financial reasons.
“I didn’t want to leave. They said I wanted to earn the same as Cristiano [Ronaldo]but that’s a lie. How would you expect to charge the same as someone who has won several Ballon d’Ors? I was very happy, I had won the Champions League, and [Carlo] Ancelotti didn’t want me to leave either, but James had arrived [Rodríguez]and I was the one who was in the market to be able to leave”, he said.
“I tried to stay until the last day. I intended to continue training. I played in the first leg of the Super Cup, against Atlético de Madrid, and in the second leg, they didn’t even call me up, because they had already reached an agreement with Manchester United, something I didn’t know about, and I had to watch at home how Atlético de Madrid won the title. My family and I were very happy, but sometimes these things happen”, he continued.
Still, the 37-year-old player has good memories of the Santiago Bernabéu, especially of Cristiano Ronaldo… even though he places him behind his compatriot Lionel Messi: “The point is that Cris works on the basis of work and effort to be number 1, but Messi drinks mate in the locker room right after the games, demonstrating that he had a gift that God gave him to be the best.”
“In terms of professionalism, Cris is number 1, by far. His way of working, of taking care of himself, of always trying to be the best, fighting with Leo, was very worthy, but it coincided with the Messi era, and that made his objective quite complicated”, he concluded.
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