Paris Saint-Germain are hopeful of finalising a deal this weekend to buy Ángel Di María from Manchester United for around £40m. This would be a significant loss on the £59.7m record fee paid by United to Real Madrid last summer, even with the deal potentially containing another £5m in add-ons.
Although United would not confirm the deal is close, it is understood that Ed Woodward, the executive vice-chairman, is in final negotiations and it would be a surprise if the Argentina international did not depart the club. Di María failed to join United’s summer tour of the US on Saturday, with the manager, Louis van Gaal, saying after Wednesday’s 2-0 defeat to PSG that he did not know where the player was. “I don’t want to answer that but you can keep asking,” said the Dutchman. “Maybe you know where he is. I don’t know.”
United’s loss on Di María is less than it appears on the face of it and is likely to total around £10m when the changes to the euro exchange rate are factored in. They did not pay the €75m fee to Madrid up front and the balance owing is less in sterling terms than had been anticipated when was struck.
Laurent Blanc, the PSG coach, added: “You know negotiations are in tandem [ongoing] and as Paris Saint-Germain [and United] are both big clubs, that can be difficult. But we feel we are close to the end.”
The French champions initially offered £28.5m (€40m) for Di María but that was swiftly rejected by United. The agreement could accelerate Van Gaal’s approach to sign Pedro from Barcelona, with reports in Spain suggesting the Spain winger will be allowed to leave if a bid of €25m is received.
