One of the bigger question marks for this year's summer transfer window is about whether or not Angel 
Di Maria will be staying on at Manchester United. Di Maria arrived at Old Trafford a year ago, following an impressive breakout stint at Real Madrid. But he's underperformed in the Premier League, to the point where some Man Utd fans even blame him for the football club's finish outside of the top three in 2014 2015.
While he might be coming off a poor season, Angel Di Maria remains a player to watch in 2015 2016-wherever he may end up. At 27, the Argentine winger/attacking midfielder should have a few good years ahead of him. Looking at Di Maria's career so far, it's pretty clear that the footballer has promise that he's yet to fulfill.
Early Career History
The 5'10" Di Maria started his career with Argentine football team Rosario Central, rising up through the club's youth program (from 1992 to 2005) before finally joining the senior squad in 2005. He made 39 appearances with the team, scoring six goals along the way. He also caught the eyes of numerous international football clubs-most notably Arsenal-but when his move to the Premier League fell through, the Argentine youth signed instead with Portuguese squad, Benfica.
All told, Angel played three seasons at Benfica, collecting 124 appearances and 15 goals overall. He helped the team win one league title (in 2009 2010) and two league cups (in 2009 and 2010), and saw his star rising-particularly in a February 27th win over Leixoes, when Di Maria scored three goals in the space of 28 minutes to give his team a 4-0 victory.
Real Madrid
That hat trick-Di Maria's first-put the Argentine footballer on the map in the soccer world, and more or less ensured that he would take the next step and sign with a bigger club. That "bigger club," it turned out in June 2010, was Real Madrid, where Di Maria signed a five-year contract.
Ultimately, he only played with Real for four of those years, but what a stunning four years they were. In his first season, he made 53 appearances and scored nine goals (overall). With Cristiano Ronaldo already in his prime, Angel was never going to be a star scorer for Madrid. He did prove to be an integral part of the soccer squad, though, tallying 11 assists in league fixtures (the sixth most of any La Liga player, and the second most of any Real Madrid player). He also provided the assist that won Real Madrid the Copa del Rey title that year.
The next three years were similarly impressive for Angel. In 2011 2012, he ascended to second place on the La Liga assists table, with 15. (His teammate, Mesut Ozil, once again bested him with 17.) He missed the top 10 in assists the next year, but in 2013 2014, he accrued 17 assists-four more than any other player in the league. He was also named "man of the match" in the Champions League final that year, providing the assist that allowed Real Madrid to take the lead en route to their 4-1 victory-and their landmark 10th UCL title.
All told, Di Maria played 191 matches at Real Madrid, scored 36 goals, and played a role in winning one Champions League, one La Liga title, one UEFA Super Cup, two Copa del Rey titles, and one Supercopa Espana. He also provided dozens of assists, creating the opportunities for Viking stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Gareth Bale to be as brilliant as they were. It was no big surprise when Manchester United shelled out £59.7Â million-a transfer fee record for a British soccer club-to bring Di Maria to Old Trafford.
Manchester UnitedÂ
When he donned the Manchester United home shirt 2014 2015, though, Angel Di Maria seemed to lose his spark. While he did finish third in the Premier League in terms of assists (with 11, five more than any other player on his team), Di Maria ultimately underwhelmed in his first football season in England. He only scored three goals in league play and four overall, and only tallied appearances in 27 of United's 38 league matches.
Needless to say, Angel Di Maria has not yet justified his lofty transfer fee. It's not clear if he will ever have the opportunity to do so, either, since Manchester United is reportedly shopping him around to clubs like Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Ultimately, though, it seems like Di Maria's failure at Old Trafford is more a miscalculation on the part of Louis van Gaal than anything else. Di Maria thrived at Real Madrid because the club's world-class strikers could always find something to do with his assists. Last season, Manchester United lacked power offensively, and Di Maria was less effective than he could have been as a result.
Are you hoping Angel will stick around England for another year? If so, grab a Manchester United shirt 2014 2015 from Soccer Box.
