Angel di Maria hit out at Louis Van Gaal's 'philosophy' and claims he rowed with the Dutchman

Angel Di Maria has revealed he left Manchester United a year after moving to Old Trafford for a British transfer record fee because he found it “difficult to adapt” to boss Louis van Gaal.

It has long been suspected that the Argentine winger, who swapped Manchester for Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month for an estimated £46million fee — £13.7m less than United paid for him the previous year — did not always see eye-to-eye with the colourful Dutch tactician.

And now the 27-year-old has confirmed he fell out with Van Gaal last season after disagreeing with the coach’s decision to change his position in the middle of a difficult, injury-ridden campaign.

“Van Gaal has his philosophy and it is one of the reasons why I wanted to leave Manchester United,” Di María told ESPN Radio in his native Argentina.

The winger also defended his record at United, blaming his disappointing second start of the season on a hamstring injury he suffered against Hull in late November, as well as his difference of opinion with Van Gaal.

“I made a very good start and then I got injured. Things weren’t quite working for me and Van Gaal changed my position,” he added.

“It’s difficult to adapt to Van Gaal. I had a number of flare ups with him.”

Despite his nightmare season in Manchester, in which his home was broken into while he was inside with his family, Di Maria is optimistic about working under Laurent Blanc at PSG, having marked his debut on Sunday with an assist in a 3-0 win at Monaco.

He said: “I spoke to Blanc and he believes I should play in a similar position as I did at Real Madrid [on the right of a three-man midfield].

"I never believed I would get such a great reception here. It was the best presentation I’ve ever had at a club.

"The truth is that I’m very happy that I came to PSG and to have team-mates such as [Ezequiel] Lavezzi and [Javier] Pastore.”

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