How Man Utd's Disastrous Spell Sparked Di Maria's Shocking Gratitude for Life-Altering Robbery

"Things began on a positive note," Ángel Di María reflects on his stint at Manchester United, a faint trace of nostalgia in his quiet voice. The most unsettling tales often do begin that way.

Di María touched down at Old Trafford in the summer of 2014 as the priciest signing in Premier League history. He had already made up his mind to leave barely five months later, after a terrifying home burglary deepened the growing rift between himself and United's then-manager, Louis van Gaal.

The two have spent the decade since pointing fingers at one another over that ill-fated Manchester chapter. Di María's lingering resentment remains plain to see as he revisits that difficult period in an exclusive sit-down with Sports Illustrated. Yet, as the World Cup champion rightly noted, things truly did begin on a high.

How a Fast Start Fizzled Out

"I scored goals and provided assists across several matches," Di María recalls, reflecting on how quickly he was able to make his mark in the Premier League. During his early exposure to England's notoriously physical top flight, the slender winger — nicknamed El Fideo, meaning the Noodle — repeatedly twisted and darted his way toward goal. Over his opening five appearances, Di María was directly involved in six Premier League goals, netting three and setting up an equal number for his teammates.

The slight attacker perhaps enjoyed his finest moment in a United shirt at Leicester City's King Power Stadium that September, chipping a sublime lob over Kasper Schmeichel before teeing up Ander Herrera's strike to put United 3–1 ahead. The Red Devils, however, collapsed in the final 30 minutes, conceding four straight goals to suffer a stunning 5–3 defeat to their newly promoted opponents.

This planted seeds of doubt in Van Gaal's mind regarding the shortcomings of his narrow 4-4-2 setup. While it brought out the best in Di María — whose rare combination of elegance and energy allowed him to cover vast stretches of the pitch while adding a delicate creative touch — his teammates struggled to flourish within it. In a bid to correct the imbalance, Van Gaal leafed through his extensive tactical manual, frequently reshaping the team at the cost of his most expensive purchase.

"All of a sudden, Van Gaal started shifting me into different roles — positions I had never played and didn't feel at ease in," Di María says. The relentlessly critical feedback from the notoriously blunt Dutch coach did little to help the forcibly repositioned forward find his footing. "He would highlight everything I did wrong during a match but never acknowledged the positives.

"I'm the kind of player who takes risks constantly, but he didn't see it that way; he never grasped that I was a forward. That's where the whole conflict with him started. I then seized up, and he began leaving me on the bench."

Di María in the Premier League

The Tipping Point

"My family wasn't settled either," Di María adds. "I wasn't happy in the city. The weather didn't do us any favors. And with the falling out with him, everything just spiraled."

While muscular setbacks and an unnecessary red card against Arsenal hampered Di María's adjustment, the breaking point arrived when three intruders attempted to force their way into his Cheshire home while he, his wife, and young daughter were seated at the dinner table. The house alarm sent the would-be burglars fleeing, but the incident left a deep mark on Di María.

"You never want something like that to happen, but in a way I'm thankful they tried to rob me, because that's when I told my agent I wanted out at any cost," he admits.

Di María started just one of United's final 10 league fixtures that season — a closing-day visit to Hull City that ended in injury after just 23 minutes. It proved to be a fittingly anticlimactic end to a spell that had carried such promise yet ultimately fell well short of expectations.