Angel Di Maria | £59.7M fee agreed I Maybe tomorrow...or the day after...

[RDCR07]

Januzaj isn't Ronaldo or Bale, but he can go past players better than either Rooney or Mata. He's our best dribbler.

I never he said he couldn't. I was trying to make the point that you need lighting pace to go past your man.

 

[AltiUn]

a couple of things i want to say about dimaría

1) if he comes, i want Van Gal and his team mates to tell him that diving is frowned upon, i dont want that shit in my team
2) if he comes, i'm delighted to have a player with his hability
3) it´s always good to have players that won a CL and played a world cup final, it adds to the character
4) i'm an argie,but i'm not him, his brother, his father or his friend, so if he screws up, do not come looking for me to give back the 70 million euros, i repeat DO NOT come looking for me

i'm so happy dimaría is coming, i'm like a teanager wetting his undies over a justin beever poster!!!!

Aren't we all?

 

[Ballache]

Exact same people that are moaning because we are not spending. I'd frigging love for United to spend £200m this window

I don't give a shit, as long as we don't get into trouble with the FFP. We earned the money, we need to spend like Barca and Real do if we want to get anywhere near them, THAT'S the level that this club needs to aspire to!

 

[freshibal]

Why is Balague considered as a bad source or unreliable ?

He's managed to be quite accurate regarding Herrera and Mata.

If Di Maria happens surely he deserves a bit of slack ?

 

[Zoo]

 

[arthurka]

I cant believe this is happening...
Its happening right?

 

[RDCR07]

Why is Balague considered as a bad source or unreliable ?

He's managed to be quite accurate regarding Herrera and Mata.

If Di Maria happens surely he deserves a bit of slack ?

Because he has dropped a few clangers in the past as well. But then every journalist is that way.

 

[United22]

Yes but that doesn't mean he can't be effective. Januzaj is an example. He has pace but he is not going to leave his defender behind like Bale or Ronaldo. Another example is Mata when he played for Chelsea. He didn't have great pace but that didn't stop him from being effective. With Di Maria on one wing and Rooney/Mata on the other we will be fine.

Januzaj can get past his man most of the time, Mata and Rooney can't. Mata and Rooney should not be on the wing at all

 

[The Red Thinker]

Some people will never be happy. Whether we play 3-5-2 or 4-3-3, he is typically going to be taking the place of one of the following: Fletcher, Cleverley or Young. From any of those three to Angel Di Maria, is the most ridiculously preposterous upgrade imaginable. He is as good as a CM as he is as a left winger. He has an UNBELIEVABLE work rate, and so much pace it hurts. He's such an exciting player. One worthy of that number 7 shirt. The fact he is versatile, is a huge plus. No other team in the Premier League wants to see us sign Di Maria. They'll flog us with the "he cost far too much" stick but that's only because they are scared. It doesn't effect us at all how much he cost. He's genuinely world class, and that's what we need. I am certain Woodward will leverage some additional sponsorships out of this, and we'll have some outgoings to help balance the books a little.

Given how insanely well the club is run from a financial perspective, if Woody and the Glazers are ok with us spending 50-60M on a single player, then why the feck would the fans give a shit? You people, always looking for a reason to complain.

In my lifetime we have made a handful of signings that have been truly exciting and made me dream. Veron, who I thought was going to help us dominate Europe for years and came for a massive fee (28.1M) at the time, Van Nistelrooy, who we tracked for seasons and waited to recover from injury and paid big money for (again at the time), Rooney, after his Euro 2004 exploits and just being the next big thing (paying nearly 30M for in 2004) and Ferdinand who we spunked nearly 30M on (for a defender!!!) and whom genuinely looked like the reincarnation of Beckenbaur.

Mata didn't quite get me in the same way (although I was pleased, very pleased) because we had such a helmet at the helm and I doubted he was what we needed to go to the next level.

All the other players we bought who turned out to be epic either came for little money and turned into world stars (Schmeichel, Irwin, Keane, Solksjaer etc) or were bought very yong and developed (Ronaldo being the obvious one). DI Maria is a world class player in his prime. He's just 26. We've bought very few of these types of players over the last 10-15 years.

People have also talked some smack about the fees we've paid for some of the other signings this summer. But I am not sure what people expect. No-one is caring that Madrid paid 27M for their reserve left back (Coentrao). Or 35M on Illaramendi or 36M on Isco. Neither of whom are playing regularly but both of whom are huge talents. Fact is prices are through the roof these days. We can still develop our own talent and take a punt on younger cheaper players, but if there is nothing coming through the academy that meets our needs, what are we supposed to do? Wilt and die as a competing force? Shaw is 19 and a huge talent. 26M ain't shit for him. Herrera is 24 and already looking like one of our better players. At 29M we have someone who is already excellent and has just the right attitude, work ethic and potential to improve considerably. Mata only just turned 26 and is an x-factor type player. Rojo is just 24 and Van Gaal has obviously done his homework on him. At "just" 16M, can't be nervous about this deal.

Not everything has to be absolutes. There is no one player out there who solves all our problems. Di Maria is just another piece of the puzzle. A very, very good piece of the puzzle. Signing him doesn't mean we can't sign other players, and paying a huge fee for him doesn't mean you'll go hungry tonight.

Brilliant stuff.

The bit about the upgrade, I especially believe to be true. Why are people complaining ffs?? The moaning before was about not investing in the club. Now that we are going to in the form of one the best wingers in world football, people start complaining about the price. THE PRICE FFS!

Every day it's non-stop from the glazer bashers. "They're leaching everything from the club!" ... and now that they're willing to throw money a la Real Madrid, it's the other way around??

@simonhch mate it's not worth talking to some people here. Leave 'em be in their own little worlds.

 

[saivet]

Because he has dropped a few clangers in the past as well. But then every journalist is that way.

Transfers fall through, journalists then look like idiots. Doesn't mean their info was necessarily bullshit.

 

[Sally Cinnamon]

Some people will never be happy. Whether we play 3-5-2 or 4-3-3, he is typically going to be taking the place of one of the following: Fletcher, Cleverley or Young. From any of those three to Angel Di Maria, is the most ridiculously preposterous upgrade imaginable. He is as good as a CM as he is as a left winger. He has an UNBELIEVABLE work rate, and so much pace it hurts. He's such an exciting player. One worthy of that number 7 shirt. The fact he is versatile, is a huge plus. No other team in the Premier League wants to see us sign Di Maria. They'll flog us with the "he cost far too much" stick but that's only because they are scared. It doesn't effect us at all how much he cost. He's genuinely world class, and that's what we need. I am certain Woodward will leverage some additional sponsorships out of this, and we'll have some outgoings to help balance the books a little.

Given how insanely well the club is run from a financial perspective, if Woody and the Glazers are ok with us spending 50-60M on a single player, then why the feck would the fans give a shit? You people, always looking for a reason to complain.

In my lifetime we have made a handful of signings that have been truly exciting and made me dream. Veron, who I thought was going to help us dominate Europe for years and came for a massive fee (28.1M) at the time, Van Nistelrooy, who we tracked for seasons and waited to recover from injury and paid big money for (again at the time), Rooney, after his Euro 2004 exploits and just being the next big thing (paying nearly 30M for in 2004) and Ferdinand who we spunked nearly 30M on (for a defender!!!) and whom genuinely looked like the reincarnation of Beckenbaur.

Mata didn't quite get me in the same way (although I was pleased, very pleased) because we had such a helmet at the helm and I doubted he was what we needed to go to the next level.

All the other players we bought who turned out to be epic either came for little money and turned into world stars (Schmeichel, Irwin, Keane, Solksjaer etc) or were bought very yong and developed (Ronaldo being the obvious one). DI Maria is a world class player in his prime. He's just 26. We've bought very few of these types of players over the last 10-15 years.

People have also talked some smack about the fees we've paid for some of the other signings this summer. But I am not sure what people expect. No-one is caring that Madrid paid 27M for their reserve left back (Coentrao). Or 35M on Illaramendi or 36M on Isco. Neither of whom are playing regularly but both of whom are huge talents. Fact is prices are through the roof these days. We can still develop our own talent and take a punt on younger cheaper players, but if there is nothing coming through the academy that meets our needs, what are we supposed to do? Wilt and die as a competing force? Shaw is 19 and a huge talent. 26M ain't shit for him. Herrera is 24 and already looking like one of our better players. At 29M we have someone who is already excellent and has just the right attitude, work ethic and potential to improve considerably. Mata only just turned 26 and is an x-factor type player. Rojo is just 24 and Van Gaal has obviously done his homework on him. At "just" 16M, can't be nervous about this deal.

Not everything has to be absolutes. There is no one player out there who solves all our problems. Di Maria is just another piece of the puzzle. A very, very good piece of the puzzle. Signing him doesn't mean we can't sign other players, and paying a huge fee for him doesn't mean you'll go hungry tonight.

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

Why is Balague considered as a bad source or unreliable ?

He's managed to be quite accurate regarding Herrera and Mata.

If Di Maria happens surely he deserves a bit of slack ?

He, along with Graham Hunter, were suggesting that Thiago to United was nailed on. Though it's quite possible that it was seeming nailed on, until someone pulled the plug from our side, which there are plenty of rumours suggesting this was the case. Both of them seemed to be lambasted as being clueless since then.

He seems to get it right more often than not though. He doesn't seem to get involved with gossip, and only seems to get involved if he's herd something to legitimate, but as we all know with transfers, they don't always go as planned, and some completely fail. Not the journos fault if it once looked a certainty, but then fell apart. Happens all the time.

 

[Pexbo]

I cannot tell you how much I hope this signals an end to turn back Tony.

 

[The Red Thinker]

Because he has dropped a few clangers in the past as well. But then every journalist is that way.

I have never seen Balague that confident about a player. When you come out and become the number one source for a reputable organisation like SkySports, you do it with the right sources. If you get it wrong, your credibility as a sports journalist is questioned. He's Sky's number one Spanish football pundit. When it comes to all things Real Madrid or Barcelona, he's rarely wrong. No, I'm not talking about tweets or of the like, I'm talking about staking your reputation on the line. you don't do that unless you're 100% sure.

All the signs encourage this notion as well.

- Real Madrid need money to balance the books.
- Earlier this week, Ancelotti said that Di Maria had asked for a transfer.
- He was dropped from the line-up entirely for the Super Copa

This is happening. And just as Balague called it before anyone else for Herrera, he's done it again with Di Maria.

 

[Shark]

I cannot tell you how much I hope this signals an end to turn back Tony.

Thank God for that too. Such a frustrating, untalented player in recent times. Ronaldo should have been replaced with somebody like Di Maria from the off.

 

[GloryHunter07]

Especially with players like Rodriguez and Luiz going for fees in excess of £50m.

Um wasn't Luiz €50m?

 

[AltiUn]

Um wasn't Luiz €50m?

I don't know, either way it was crazy figures for a player of his quality.

Edit: Sky said it was £50m http://www1.skysports.com/football/...-16350million-purchase-of-chelseas-david-luiz

 

[Offside]

I don't give a shit, as long as we don't get into trouble with the FFP. We earned the money, we need to spend like Barca and Real do if we want to get anywhere near them, THAT'S the level that this club needs to aspire to!

That's hardly going to happen with £750m kit deals.

 

[Eric'sCollar]

I cannot tell you how much I hope this signals an end to turn back Tony.

Won't affect him really I wouldn't think. We still need depth in wide areas and van Gaal probably sees him as an option at RB too.

 

[langster]

Um wasn't Luiz €50m?

As I said earlier we should be thanking PSG for spending £50 Million on Luiz. It was funny enough before the World Cup, the WC just made it hilarious. And if it now means they have lost out on Di Maria because they spent similar on Luiz. Jeez!

 

[Sally Cinnamon]

This is happening. And just as Balague called it before anyone else for Herrera, he's done it again with Di Maria.

Not true at all to be fair. This has already looked moreless certain since yesterday afternoon. Everyone just seemed to wait a day before jizzing themselves.

 

[RDCR07]

And with Marquinhos already there, they could have gone with a cheaper option too.

 

[AltiUn]

Mourinho gave us Mata now he's effectively given us di Maria by flogging Luiz for £50m to PSG, good on you, Jose

 

[united_99]

a couple of things i want to say about dimaría

1) if he comes, i want Van Gal and his team mates to tell him that diving is frowned upon, i dont want that shit in my team
2) if he comes, i'm delighted to have a player with his hability
3) it´s always good to have players that won a CL and played a world cup final, it adds to the character
4) i'm an argie,but i'm not him, his brother, his father or his friend, so if he screws up, do not come looking for me to give back the 70 million euros, i repeat DO NOT come looking for me

i'm so happy dimaría is coming, i'm like a teanager wetting his undies over a justin beever poster!!!!

 

[Sparky_Hughes]

I hope I'm alone when this is confirmed because I'm going to cum like a pornstar

 

[shamans]

Is it really happening?

A surprise. Massive, massive signing.

 

[Mister Ed]

I cant believe this is happening...
Its happening right?

It better happens or I'll be devasted !

 

[The Red Thinker]

Not true at all to be fair. This has already looked moreless certain since yesterday afternoon. Everyone just seemed to wait a day before jizzing themselves.

I call bollocks on the fact that "it was certain." Don't remember reading anything anywhere with any certainty that it was going to happen. Just the random, usual twitter babble.

 

[Cina]

When Nani was on fire back in 10/11 I said that him and Di Maria were the best two young wingers in Europe.

I did not expect things to turn out like this.

 

[Ballache]

That's hardly going to happen with £750m kit deals.

Exactly, hence why I don't give a shit if we pay 60m for Di Maria.

 

[ItsEssexRob]

When Nani was on fire back in 10/11 I said that him and Di Maria were the best two young wingers in Europe.

I did not expect things to turn out like this.

I also remember that debate in the Nani thread where I was taken the piss out of for suggesting Di Maria was better than Nani.

 

[Cina]

I also remember that debate in the Nani thread where I was taken the piss out of for suggesting Di Maria was better than Nani.

Good for you.

I thought Di Maria was better but only marginally, they were both amazing.

I don't think it's very ... marginal any more though.

 

[RDCR07]

Is Ballbag going to be a deadman if this doesn't happen? He must have broken twitter on the football side of things.

 

[Sally Cinnamon]

I call bollocks on the fact that "it was certain." Don't remember reading anything anywhere with any certainty that it was going to happen. Just the random, usual twitter babble.

Didn't say it was certain, said it moreless was i.e a reliable Spanish source was reporting it.

It clearly wasn't the usual twitter babble, because I'm not referring to anything to do with twitter. And it clearly wasn't babble, because, well, it's proved to be true.

 

[Shark]

Nani hit a very high level in 10/11 and then unfortunately hit a disastrously low level for the following three seasons. The comparisons with Di Maria seem mad now of course.

 

[Cerpin]

So, does this mean a return to 4-4-3? I can't imagine him as a CM for us. When played there, he's been the most advanced, both for Real and Argentina. He wouldn't get to be that with both Mata and Kagawa in the squad, imo.

 

[Hernandez - BFA]

I can't wait till Monday

 

[Lennon7]

I propose we change this thread title to 'Arturo Vidal' and the Vidal thread title to 'Angel Di Maria', so people think we knew about Di Maria the whole time (rather than tugging over Vidal for 500 odd pages)

 

[Pexbo]

So...

DI MARIA
7​

Finally someone worthy of the shirt, it's been 5 years since we could say that.

​

 

[Lennon7]

I can't wait till Monday

I've been thinking that for the past 3/4 weeks. Finally something is happening!