Di Maria confirms transfer from PSG to Barcelona broke down

Argentina forward Angel di Maria has been speaking about his failed move to Barcelona last summer. He once again confirmed that he was close to joining compatriot Lionel Messi at Camp Nou, this time in an interview with TyC Sports. 

Now, though, he focused on his work with Paris Saint-Germain and on this summer's World Cup. 

"I was really close to joining Barcelona but in the end, it wasn't to be," Di Maria said. "I started 2018 on a good foot, though, and I am really happy," he added after scoring a hat-trick in his last game, although he indicated that "I like assisting goals more than scoring them." 

Di Maria had praise for Messi, saying that "he's always the best, he's the best every year. Cristiano Ronaldo's a special player, but Messi's from another planet. There are no words to describe Messi, he always surprises you." 

Speaking about international football with Argentina, the forward said that "we've reached three finals and due to bad luck we've not won them, it's not to do with a lack of balls. Against Germany, we were the better side but we didn't get the rub of the green." 

Looking ahead to the World Cup in Russia, Di Maria commented that "Argentina or on a level with German and Spain in terms of names and for what they have to play for." 

However, he admitted that the criticism the players have had in recent years when playing for the Albiceleste has damaged them somewhat: "The abuse and the memes about the national team's players hurts a lot. The psychologist helped me a lot [to deal with it]."

Finally, on his future, he said that "my dream was to come to Europe and now it's my dream to return to Rosario Central."