Angel Di Maria insists he's not Paris Saint-Germain's saviour

Angel Di Maria joined Paris Saint-Germain from Manchester United during the summer transfer window.

Paris Saint-Germain winger Angel Di Maria has hit back at critics by insisting ‘he’s not a saviour’ and has requested for help from teammates to win trophies, as per the reports on BeIn Sports. Di Maria has been criticised in recent weeks as he has struggled for form and he responded to his doubters by scoring the winner against Rennes on Friday.

The 27-year-old joined the Parisians for a reported fee of £44 million during the summer after spending just one season with Manchester United, where he struggled to cement a place in Louis Van Gaal’s team. Di Maria came with a hefty price tag and the fans have got every right to demand better from the high-profile arrival.

Di Maria was a completely different player at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Argentinian was instrumental in Real Madrid’s La Decima winning campaign and it came as a surprise when the club made a decision to sell him to United last year. He had admitted earlier this month that it was never his intention to leave the Spanish capital.

Ever since he left Los Blancos, he hasn’t been up to the mark and he is slowly starting to settle down with life in Paris. Di Maria’s figures to date are not entirely bad – four goals and four assists between Ligue 1 and the Champions League. However, he has been given some stick by many supporters and he was criticized for his tame performance against his former club Real Madrid on Match Day 3.

“There’s always going to be criticism, but sometimes people criticise just for the sake of it because they get a kick out of it,” he said.

“Criticism can be damaging – especially when you have only just arrived at a club and have just put in three or four good games. I scored against Malmö in my first Champions League game with PSG and everyone was raving about it.”

He further added: “Against Madrid, things didn’t turn out so well and there were a million criticisms. Sometimes there is more criticism than is necessary but you have to adapt to it.”

“A lot of things happened to me while I was at Madrid and I had to overcome them. I ended up winning major trophies and I hope the same thing happens here with PSG.”

I need help from teammates to win the Champions League: Di Maria

The Argentina international silenced his critics by scoring a 75th-minute goal against Rennes on Friday. However, he has warned his team-mates that he needs help if they are going to win the Champions League.

“I’m not a classic centre-forward; I’m not a goal scorer. I’m not used to scoring in every game. Obviously I love scoring and I get great satisfaction when I set up one of my teammates to score.”

“For me, assisting a goal and scoring one is the same thing. People have to understand that I am not PSG’s saviour and nor can I make the team win the Champions League on my own.”

“I’m here to help – to add my own grain of sand.”