Manchester United flop Angel Di Maria has revealed his all-time XI and the Benfica player controversially snubbed two Red Devils legends.
Angel Di Maria was brought to Old Trafford in 2014 after Manchester United paid Real Madrid £59.7m, which was a British-record transfer fee at the time.
The Argentine impressed during his start to life at Old Trafford under former United manager Louis van Gaal, but Di Maria’s impact at the club was short-lived.
Van Gaal would play Di Maria out of position and later picked up an injury during his spell at United, with the former Red Devils player leaving Old Trafford in 2015.
Di Maria, who lifted the World Cup with Argentina in 2022, went on to play for both Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus before he returned to Benfica for a second spell.
Di Maria picks his all-time XI
Speaking to Argentine TV channel TyC Sports (via Marca), Angel Di Maria shared his all-time XI and was forced to leave out some big names from his selection.
The 35-year-old, who recently praised one Manchester United star, picked Argentina teammate Emiliano Martinez ahead of Real Madrid legend Iker Casillas for his No 1.
Di Maria’s backline included Benfica and Argentina teammate Nicolas Otamendi, who featured alongside Madrid legends Sergio Ramos and Marcelo.
“Left-back Marcelo, 100 [per cent], incredible, enormous quality. Right-back, he’s screwed, we’ll leave that one,” he said.
Ahead of Di Maria’s three defenders – leaving out a right-back – was former Benfica player Rui Costa sat in midfield alongside ex-Argentina player Javier Mascherano.
Di Maria snubs United legends from frontline
Di Maria built an impressive four-man attacking line for his all-time XI, which included four players from his time at PSG.
Former PSG star Neymar made the XI alongside Barcelona legend Lionel Messi, with Di Maria playing alongside the latter for club and country.
PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe took his place in the attacking setup alongside ex-United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was a teammate of Di Maria’s at the Ligue 1 club.
Di Maria surprisingly snubbed United and Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo, despite enjoying a prolific spell alongside him at Los Blancos.
United legend Wayne Rooney also failed to make the final selection, with World Cup-winning Argentine Di Maria admitting he faced an “impossible” task in choosing.
According to Di Maria, snubbing legendary ex-footballers like Ronaldo and Rooney was not personal and came down to the number of players he played alongside.
“I had the opportunity to play with so many and have that privilege that sometimes if they don’t ask me a question like that, I don’t start thinking about who I played with and the truth is that it is crazy if I have to put myself together,” he said.
“I could easily put together two all-star teams.”
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