Di Maria reveals United forced him to wear the no.7 shirt: ‘I didn’t get a choice’

Argentine striker Angel Di Marias was given the number seven shirt when he arrived at Old Trafford in 2014, but he has revealed he would have preferred to take the number 11 shirt.

Angel Di Maria secured an expensive transfer to Old Trafford from Real Madrid in the summer of 2014 and was immediately given the number seven shirt, which was held at the English club by some legendary players like Erci Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Red Devils had high expectations for Di Marian after his successful bout with Real Madrid. Back then coach Louis van Gaal was convinced he had bought a superstar.

However, Di Maria spent just one season at Old Trafford, before moving to Paris Saint-Germain. The Red Devils were never rewarded for the investment made in the Argentines, who sold for less money than they had bought.

He did not meet the standards set by the players who wore the number seven shirt in front of him. However, in an interview explaining why he got the number 11 at PSG, Di Maria said he had never wanted to take that legendary shirt to Old Trafford.

“I don’t know why I got the number 11 to tell the truth. When I came here, I saw that this shirt was free. It’s a number that I kept a lot when I was young and I wanted to get it again,” Di Maria said.

“In Real Madrid, number 11 was busy, so I got 22. At Manchester United, they gave me number 7, they left me no other option. I would have liked to get the number 11, but it did. Here, I had the option, so I chose the 11th.”