Angel Di Maria has claimed that his former club Real Madrid sent him a letter on the day of the World Cup final asking him no to feature.
The player insists that he ignored his club’s request, despite being left on the bench due to a thing injury.
‘I got a letter from Madrid that arrived at 11am on the day of the (World Cup final) asking me not to play,’ he explained to America & Closs.
‘We were playing at 4pm and I was preparing myself to be in the best condition, knowing that I could have got injured. I was thinking about playing in the final, although I knew that if I did there was a 90 per cent chance I’d re-injure myself.
‘As soon as I got that letter, I ripped it up. I did not care, no matter what.
‘I suffered a lot that morning. That was the worst thing to ever happen in my life. I didn’t speak to anyone at the club about this. It doesn’t matter.
‘In the end, it was (Argentina manager Alejandro) Sabella who made the decision and it was for the best.’
With the arrival of Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez, the club had to offload the Argentine attacking midfielder and the player believes his deflated relationship with the club president also had a part to play in his exit.
‘I never said I wanted to leave Madrid. The club decided to buy other players. I always had a great relationship with my team-mates,’ he said.
‘I have no relationship with Florentino Perez. When I signed my contract, he was not present.’
This comes after Perez defended his club’s transfer policy following Cristiano Ronaldo’s public criticism about Real’s comings and goings, including the £5m sale of Xabi Alonso to Bayern Munich.
And Di Maria confirmed that Ronaldo tried to prevent his move from La Liga to the Premier League.
‘Cristiano was always on my side,’ he continued. ‘He fought for me to stay. I don’t know how long he will stay at Madrid.
‘I was having a good time in Spain, so the change will have its toll. I have to adapt to my new team-mates, but I hope it will be as quick as possible.
‘I want to score goals and get United back to where they should be. I’m very happy to be in Manchester.’
On the contrary, Perez insists Di Maria was offered an improved contract that would have seen him become the second-best paid player at the club.
‘I’ve been here since 2000,’ Perez said. ‘Since then a lot of players have come and gone and my experience tells me that the ones that leave are always the best and those that arrive are always questioned.
‘My first (signing) was (Zinedine) Zidane and the last (before this summer’s transfer window) was (Gareth) Bale. We made the best offer that we could to Di Maria and he didn’t accept it.
‘Hence, we brought in James (Rodriguez), one of the best players at the World Cup and the Golden Boot award winner. Di Maria and all of those that have left have our gratitude and respect.
‘A player that is under contract and leaves is because he wants to. Real has always respected contracts. Di Maria had financial requests that I considered legitimate but we couldn’t satisfy them. I reiterate that we made him the best possible offer.
‘With the exception of Cristiano, Di Maria would have been the highest paid at Real Madrid. Had we accepted his financial demands it would have created an unbalanced treatment that would have put the club’s stability in danger.
‘Di Maria left to Manchester for a fee that we considered fair and that is why the transfer was completed. We wish Di Maria the best professionally and personally.’