Earlier in the summer, Angel Di Maria bid goodbye to international football, playing his last match for Argentina and receiving a grand farewell.
It marked an end to an astonishing international career that saw the player appear 145 times for his country, with the forward notably securing the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Di Maria has an equally impressive track record in club football, with his fondest spell coming at Real Madrid. The Argentine played for Los Blancos from 2010 to 2014, featuring in almost 200 matches in the process.
Di Maria hails Real Madrid as the best club
In a recent interview, Di Maria has looked back at his spell at Real Madrid, labelling Los Blancos as the best club in the world.
“Joining Real Madrid felt like being recognized as one of the top 10-15 players in the world, it’s the biggest club in the world, and playing there is like representing a national team,” he said (h/t Madrid Zone).
Formerly of SL Benfica, Di Maria joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2010. He joined for a fee of €33 million, which later turned out to be quite the bargain for the Spanish giants.
Indeed, the former Man United forward racked up 36 goals and 85 assists during his four years at Real Madrid.
His combination play with Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil and Karim Benzema was certainly a sight for any football fan at the time.
Di Maria left the Spanish capital in 2014, in favour of a €75 million move to Manchester United.
Currently in the final phase of his career, Di Maria returned to his youth club Benfica last year on a free transfer.