5 Manchester United flops who went on to succeed elsewhere

#3 Angel di Maria

Angel di Maria never seemed to really fit in at Old Trafford

A big price tag can often be like a millstone around a player’s neck, particularly when the player in question is one that a club doesn’t necessarily need, and the signing comes off as more of a vanity one than anything else. That was the case when Man United signed Argentine winger Angel di Maria in the summer of 2014 from Real Madrid for a monstrous £59m – then a British transfer record.

Di Maria had been one of Los Blancos outstanding players in 2013/14 and had also had a good World Cup for Argentina. The former Benfica man started well at United, scoring his first goal and earning Man of the Match in a September game against QPR. And then, October saw him voted United’s Player of the Month, but from there it basically went downhill.

The lanky winger returned in January but manager Louis Van Gaal couldn’t seem to decide whether he was a winger or a forward, and he was sent off in disgrace for grabbing the referee in an FA Cup Quarter-Final loss to Arsenal. He ended the season with just four goals in 32 appearances and was subsequently sold to Paris St. Germain in the summer of 2015.

The move to Paris, however, seems to have resurrected his career – he was outstanding throughout 2015/16, setting a new assist record for Ligue 1 with 18, and his form continued into 2016/17, with 14 goals and 8 assists across all competitions.

Whether the transfer fee put too much pressure on him at United, or it was a case of Van Gaal not knowing how to deploy him, Di Maria is certainly an example of a United flop who’s basically succeeded everywhere else he’s been.