It has emerged that Paris Saint-Germain star, Angel Di Maria was substituted in Sunday’s Lique 1 game against Nantes as a result of a family emergency.
Goal reported that the 33-year-old Argentine was subbed-off just past the hour mark in PSG’s game against Nantes after his home was robbed while members of his family were present.
The Parisien club went on to lose the game 1-2.
The club’s Sporting Director, Leonardo, was said to have sent signals to manager Mauricio Pochettino, who promptly withdrew Di Maria and followed him to the dressing room.
Pochettino returned shortly to the sidelines to oversee the rest of the match.
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It also later emerged that the home of Di Maria’s teammate, Marquinhos’ parents was also ransacked by home invaders around the same time.
Di Maria had suffered a similar case of burglary while still with Manchester United, which was believed to have contributed to his decision to quit the club.
Meanwhile, Pochettino said that while the incident was no excuse to lose the game, it affected the player’s negatively.
“It’s not an excuse but there was a drop in energy.
“We talked about things other than football after the game in the locker room.”
“The truth is that the first period we controlled the match, but after the equalizer, we had trouble and we were not strong enough to hang onto this match,” Pochettino stated.