ANGEL DI MARIA brutally named former Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal the worst manager he has ever played for.
Van Gaal arrived at Old Trafford in 2014 and broke the British transfer fee for Di Maria when United shelled out £59.7m to Real Madrid.
But Di Maria failed to find his best form in Manchester and left for Paris Saint-Germain for £44m the following year.
The Argentine ace has thrived at almost every club during his glittering career, but it all went wrong at United and he appears to point the blame at Van Gaal.
Speaking to ESPN Argentina, the current Benfica winger was asked to identify the top three managers in his career.
And while he struggled to narrow down a star-studded list, he quickly offered his thoughts on the Dutchman.
He said, without being asked: “The worst is Van Gaal, of that I can assure you without a doubt. Just to let you know before you ask.”
“In case you had any doubt, I’ll clear that up for you right now.”
Van Gaal followed Di Maria out the exit door a year later in 2016, and has since put the winger’s issues at United down to him not being able to handle the pressure of the Premier League.
Van Gaal told BBC Sport in 2019: “Di Maria says it was my problem. I played him in every attacking position.
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“You can check that. He never convinced me in any of those positions.
“He could not deal with the continuous pressure on the ball in the Premier League. That was his problem.”
Di Maria’s family failed to settle in the North West after an attempted burglary while they were at home watching TV.
His wife Jorgelina Cardoso refused to return to the house after burglars believed to be armed with scaffolding poles tried to smash their way into his home.
Di Maria was originally asked to name the best managers he’s played under, and picked out two figures from the Argentina set-up, including ex-Leeds midfielder Alejandro Sabella.
Sabella coached the Argentine national team between 2011 and 2014, taking the side all the way to the World Cup final before they were beaten by Germany.
Current Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni also made the list after he led the nation to their third World Cup triumph in Qatar 2021.
The 36-year-old winger could not choose between Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti to complete his top three.
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He admitted: “And after, it’s hard. I had a lot of coaches. Mourinho, Ancelotti. I played for so many good managers that it’s hard to pick.”
Di Maria lifted the 2011 Copa del Rey and 2012 LaLiga trophies under the Special One’s guidance in the Spanish capital.
Before winning his first and only Champions League title with Ancelotti in charge of Los Blancos in 2014.
Later in the same interview, he reserved some special words for footballing icon Diego Maradona, who oversaw his development with Argentina between 2008 and 2010.
Di Maria added: “I won’t consider him as a manager to you because to me he was more of a close friend, someone who stopped by to chat.
“He didn’t seem like a manager but more like a friend, a brother, a dad. A dad more than anything.
“He was everything to me. Diego is the best that ever was. I’ve said it before, Leo Messi is the greatest of all time, but Diego is Diego. To me, to Argentina and to the world.”
