Paris: Argentina winger Angel Di Maria said he is “delighted” to be joining French champions Paris-Saint Germain in an interview screened on BeIn Sports yesterday.
The 27-year-old has yet to officially sign for the Qatari-backed Parisians ahead of a move from Manchester United.
But in an interview with BeIn Sports, who are owned by the same Qatari Sports Investments group that includes PSG in its portfolio, Di Maria spoke of his joy at securing a move to the big-spending outfit.
“I’m delighted to sign for PSG because the club has done everything to bring me here,” said Di Maria, who passed a medical in Doha on Tuesday.
“I’ll try to do my best, I’ll work hard to give my utmost and if everything goes well, we’ll win a lot of trophies.”
The former Real Madrid star said his goal was to bring more than just domestic glory to last year’s French treble-winners.
“Paris won all the trophies in France and that’s important for such a big club.
“My aim is to help Paris get past the Champions League quarter-finals.” PSG have been knocked out in the Champions League quarter-finals the last three years (twice by Barcelona and once by Chelsea) and their best result in Europe’s premier club competition remains a semi-final appearance in 1995.
Di Maria’s arrival will be PSG’s biggest in the current off-season following those of German goalkeeper Kevin Trapp from Eintracht Frankfurt and French midfielder Benjamin Stambouli from Tottenham.
The Argentine spent just one season at Manchester United, who have agreed a £44.3m (€63m; $68.9m) fee with PSG.
Having helped Real win the Champions League in 2014, Di Maria moved to Old Trafford for £59.7m.
Di Maria – who has 65 caps for Argentina – scored four goals in 32 appearances for United.
Meanwhile, Paris St Germain fans who do not have tickets for the Ligue 1 opener against Lille tomorrow have been banned from travelling to the area amid concerns about possible crowd trouble, local authorities said on Tuesday.
They issued an order on Tuesday barring PSG fans without tickets from Villeneuve d’Ascq, home to the Pierre Mauroy stadium, where Lille play, and neighbouring Lezennes and Ronchin.
The authorities said they feared crowd trouble, citing previous problems caused by PSG fans in recent years.
Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic will miss the champions’ season opener at Lille because of a right knee sprain, the Ligue 1 club announced on Tuesday.
Tests carried out on the player “revealed a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee,” the club said in a statement ahead of the match. AGENCIES
