Angel Di Maria has left Paris Saint-Germain with a parting shot at manager Mauricio Pochettino, who he expects to be sacked in the coming weeks.
Di Maria will leave PSG when his contract expires at the end of the month, bringing to an end a seven-year stay with the club. The 34-year-old winger contributed 93 goals and 119 assists in 295 appearances for PSG following his £44.3million move from Manchester United in August 2015.
He leaves having helped to win five Ligue 1 titles, five Coupe de France titles and four Coupe de la Ligue trophies. The Argentina international was a key player for PSG, where he will leave behind Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.
Despite Di Maria’s domestic success in the French capital, the continued failure to win the Champions League is a real disappointment at PSG. And it seems Pochettino could be about to lose his job, due in part to that failure, with new sporting director Luis Campos reportedly considering replacing him with Nice boss Christophe Galtier.
Ex-Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane and Ross manager Jose Mourinho have also been linked with the role. Whoever does arrive, Di Maria has hinted that Pochettino’s fate is already sealed while discussing his international team-mate Messi.
"It seems like they also want the coach to leave,” he told TyC Sports, via Marca . “There will be a very big change, but I think Messi knew how to understand it. It will help him to be much better next season. I think it will start very well because he ended up scoring goals, giving assists, feeling very comfortable and adapting more and more.”
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Several other players have been tipped to leave PSG this summer, including Mauro Icardi, Gini Wijnaldum, Sergio Ramos, Leandro Paredes, Idrissa Gueye, Thilo Kehrer, Layvin Kurzawa, Julian Draxler and Ander Herrera. Di Maria will be available to new clubs on a free transfer on July 1 and he has been linked with a move to Juventus and Barcelona.
His wife Jorgelina Cardoso criticised PSG’s decision to release Di Maria, writing on Instagram recently that the club would come to “regret your departure” and predicting "another team will take advantage of you as you deserve.” Di Maria himself has been a bit more diplomatic about the French giant’s decision. "There are other players who will surely leave. Mine was the easiest because they didn't have to renew me,” he said.
“On the one hand it hurt and on the other, no. I left in a very special way. It was an unforgettable night, that an Argentine in another country has a farewell like mine, not everyone does it. The affection of the PSG fan, the one behind the goal, is the most difficult thing to achieve. that I go outside, that they sing for me alone and having made a mural for me to sign are things that remain in the memory.”
