WAYNE ROONEY has blamed Angel Di Maria’s home being burgled for his woeful spell at Manchester United – and begged Thiago Alcantara to snub Liverpool
The Argentine star, now one of the world’s best at Paris Saint-Germain, spent just one, sub-par season at Old Trafford.
But Rooney has blamed the mental toll of his Manchester home – with a young family inside – being broken into rather than a lack of talent or commitment for difficult year.
Di Maria spent just one season at Old Trafford following his £59.7million move from Real Madrid in 2014.
Aside from his Leicester wondergoal, Di Maria struggled for form at Man Utd and was sold to PSG in the summer of 2015.
In his column for the Sunday Times, Rooney wrote: “He’s a wonderful player.
“When he came to United I remember Louis van Gaal saying to the team: ‘He is the only one who is allowed to dribble with the ball.’
“Angel works tirelessly on the pitch and his delivery, vision and awareness is brilliant.
“He could have been a major star at United.”
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Rooney continued: “But at the time we were going through a bit of a transition and it was tough for him to settle.
“He had young kids and lived a couple of houses down from me and someone tried to burgle him.
“I remember that really shook him and his family.
“From then on, really, you knew it was going to be tough for him and it was probably better for him to leave.”
Meanwhile, ex-Man Utd and Everton star Rooney has pleaded with Thiago to snub his arch-rivals Liverpool.
Rooney revealed: “He almost came to United in 2013 and now Liverpool are linked with him.
“He’s one of the best midfielders around – I just hope he doesn’t go there!
“He can take the ball, be composed on it, keep things ticking over – and he’ll put his foot in.
“He’s an all-round midfielder, really, with a bit of everything.
“He backs up that Bayern press and he drops in between the centre halves to take the ball yet can also join in when they’re playing around the other box too.
“He’s a great player. It would be great to see him in the Premier League, actually.”
Meanwhile, Bayern boss Hansi Flick joked Thiago told him he wanted to stay, before admitting he has already thanked him for his service ahead of his summer move away.
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When asked if Thiago is going, Flick joked: “No, he told me he is staying.
“No, I just thanked him for our time together, just like I did every other player.
“I don’t know [which club he will join] and he doesn’t know yet either , because we all focused on this Champions League final.
“I think we will have to wait for what the following days will bring.”
