Friday 7 August 2015 06:20, UK
Angel Di Maria was keen to put his disappointing experience at Manchester United behind him after completing his £44.3m move to Paris Saint-Germain.
The Argentine arrived in the Premier League with considerable fanfare after completing a British record £59.7m move from Real Madrid last summer but he struggled to live up to that hype and failed to adapt to life in England.
After a bright start, a well-publicised burglary of his Manchester home and a run of injuries contributed to Di Maria losing his form and ultimately his place in the team to Ashley Young.
"Things did not turn out well for me at Manchester United for many reasons, but that is the past," the midfielder told a press conference in Paris on Thursday.
"I have been in Paris for two days and I am delighted because I know my wife and my daughter will be happy here."
After the way the season ended, Di Maria appeared intent on forcing a move away from United and - much to the ire of United fans - failed to report as scheduled for the club’s preseason tour in the US.
However, the 28-year-old insisted that he was not the only one keen to bring his time at the club to an end.
"This is not only my decision," the player said. "They (United) also wanted to sell me. It is a shared decision between the three parties, if we include PSG.
"PSG have been following me for several years. I am very proud to now be able to play for this great club, alongside such great players."
The sale of Di Maria, meanwhile, means United's famous No 7 shirt becomes available for the new season.
Summer signing Memphis Depay is a strong candidate to take the jersey given that he wore it during his time at PSV Eindhoven.
United manager Louis van Gaal will now look to bolster his squad by signing Barcelona forward Pedro, according to Sky sources.
The 28-year-old has enjoyed 11 successful years at Barca, but has become frustrated at a lack of playing time at the Nou Camp recently following the signing of Neymar and Luis Suarez, who have formed a deadly three-pronged attack alongside Lionel Messi.
If Barca president Josep Bartomeu gets his way, Pedro will not be leaving the club, however.
"There is nothing on Pedro. There isn't any official offer (on the table)," Bartomeu was quoted as saying in Marca.
"He is a Barca player and we want him to continue at Barca. To win the six competitions (we are in), we need the best players and Pedro is one of them."
Pedro came off the bench to play the final 29 minutes of Barcelona's 3-0 friendly win over Roma at the Nou Camp on Wednesday night.
