Angel Di Maria is a world-famous Argentine soccer player who plays for the Argentine national team and the serial winner of Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain. Di Maria started out as a flying winger, but over the years had to get used to an offensive and at times central midfielder.
Bio
Angel Di Maria was born on February 14, 1988, in the city of Rosario, Argentina. Even at a young age, his family doctor recommended that he sign up for football because of his unusually high level of activity.
His parents signed up and Angel Di Maria was drafted into football at the age of three. His parents found that Di Maria’s new hobby, football, had to keep up with him due to their limited income.
Di Maria began his football career at the age of four when he joined his local team Rosario Central. He made his professional debut for his club on 14 December 2005 but had to wait about a year for his first goal on 24 November 2006. After representing his country at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, Di Maria made his name known around the world, attracting several European clubs, including England’s Arsenal, although the move was ultimately thwarted by British labor laws.
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Di Maria finally arrived in Europe in July 2007 when Portuguese club Benfica paid 6 million euros to their home side, Rosario. He was to replace outgoing club captain Simao, who moved to Atletico Madrid. In two years with the club, he impressed so much that in 2009 he was rewarded with another contract, which was due to expire on 30 June 2015 with an exemption clause of 40 million euros.
It was another FIFA competition that promoted Di Maria’s career prospects. Following his success at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, he caught the attention of Real Madrid’s then manager, Jose Mourinho, who signed the winger for €25 million on a five-year contract.
He made his debut for the club in 2010 in a friendly match against Mexican side America and scored his first goal in another friendly against Spanish side Hercules. Di Maria had many golden moments in a Real Madrid jersey, but his best moment came in the final of the 2013-14 championship against local neighbors Atletico Madrid when he helped the Spanish giants to La Decima – a tenth European triumph.
After another FIFA World Cup, this time in Brazil, Di Maria took another big step forward for England’s Giants Manchester United when newly appointed Dutch coach Louis Van Gaal made what was then a record £59.7 million transfer. The Argentinian inherited the iconic number 7 jersey at Old Trafford. He made his debut for United in a goalless draw against Burnley and scored his first goal for the club from a direct free-kick against QPR.
In the end, the move to England never worked out for Di Maria, who praised it as the worst deal of the season. After another international final defeat, this time in the Copa America against Chile, Di Maria switched to French Moneybags PSG on 2 August 2015 for a fee of probably around £44 million, with a four-year contract. Di Maria made his club debut against Monaco and scored his first goal for his new club in the Champions League against Malmö.
Family and Wife (Jorgelina Cardoso)
Di Maria considers himself a family man. Since his family was not very rich when he was growing up, and since he had to sacrifice a lot as a child to buy his training boots, he took it upon himself to give back as much as possible to his family, out of gratitude for all the years of patience and sacrifice.
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In 2011 Angel Di Maria married his long-time girlfriend Jorgelina Cardoso, and the union has produced a beautiful little girl Mia who was born too soon. Mia was born three months before her due date, spent some time in intensive care, and survived through treatment, but is now very healthy.
Other Facts About Angel Di Maria
- Di Maria was bought by his first club Rosario Central in an exchange that included 30 footballs.
- He was the victim of an attempted burglary when he’s home in Prestbury, Cheshire was the scene of an attempted burglary on 31 January 2015.
- Di Maria was nicknamed Fideo, which means noodles in Spanish, due to his very slim nature and slippery playing style.
- He is of Italian descent and therefore has an Italian passport.
Height
Di Maria stands at 5 ft. 11, which corresponds to 180 cm.
