Angel Di Maria claims that he didn't have a choice but to take the No.7 shirt at Manchester United.
Di Maria would spend just one forgettable season at Old Trafford before moving on to Paris Saint-Germain, with little return found on sizeable investment.
He certainly failed to live up to the standards set by No.7s that went before him, but the 31-year-old says it was never his desire to take on the iconic number.
Di Maria told Ligue 1 on why he took the No.11 shirt at PSG: “I don’t really know. When I arrived, I saw that the number 11 was available.
“It’s a shirt number I wore a lot when I was younger and I was keen to get once again.
“At Real Madrid, number 11 was already taken, so I took 22. At Manchester United they gave me number 7, I didn’t get a choice. I would have liked 11 but there we are. Here, I had a choice, so I chose 11!”
Di Maria has gone on to take in over 200 games for PSG, collecting three Ligue 1 titles along the way, and admits to rediscovering his passion for the game after a testing spell in England.
He added: “PSG is very important to me. They welcomed me with open arms in a period when I was finding it difficult in Manchester.
“I came here with ambition, and determination to succeed. Little by little, I showed that I was capable, that I could help the club achieve great things. I always do my best to help the club succeed.”
EAsoft
193
So you mean you couldn't perform because of the wrong shirt number?
cmohn61
150
Even today, I still believe no.7 is right for him, it’s just the coach didn’t use him well and the players around him were not up to the standards of Manchester United!! It’s just wrong time for him to be at Manchester United! Manchester United needed a complete rebuilding when sir Alex left. He gave the incoming manager to give him every opportunity to revamp the squad! The squad they are all Aging, they needed fresh blood but David Moyes chose to stick with the same team. Since then united never recovered!! They changed managers, bought players but with imbalanced qualities and look at the squad right now! They were never going to succeed.. but I like what Ole is doing at the club. This sort of approach should have been adopted Long ago..but right now I think they are on a right track. Sure it’s a pain to see the team dropping points against the lower teams at the moment. But in the near future it will be fruitful, it will bear fruit and I’m sure about it! Right now if Di Maria comes to United I am damn sure he will be a success!! Not the flop that people claim about him!!