TURNING OUT Ángel Di María reveals information that he was banned by Real Madrid from playing in the Final match between Argentina and Germany at the 2014 World Cup

Midfielder Angel Di Maria has revealed that Real Madrid sent him a letter banning him from playing in the 2014 World Cup final.

Recently, midfielder Angel Di Maria was honored by his teammates in the Argentina national team on the day he retired from international football . The “Angel” had a tearful farewell, thereby ending a period of ups and downs but also very memorable in the La Albiceleste shirt.

However, few people expected that the player known as “Messi’s guardian angel” was once banned from playing by his former team Real Madrid in the historic match. Specifically, in an interview in 2020, Di Maria revealed that the Royal team banned him from playing in the 2014 World Cup final.

Di Maria revealed that Real Madrid banned him from playing in the 2014 World Cup final. Photo: Getty

At that time, Di Maria was considered the best player in the Argentina squad, however, he was injured and could not participate in the semi-final match against the Netherlands. Knowing this information, Los Blancos sent a letter to Di Maria and made the above request.

” The only three people who knew the truth were Dr Daniel Martinez, coach Alejandro Sabella and me. I had torn a muscle in the match against Belgium, when I was only at about 90% fitness. My leg was not fully recovered, but I wanted to play and I didn’t care if it meant I would never play football again. It was one of the things I had been warned about, but for me, it was the World Cup final, my final.

I knew Real Madrid wanted to sell me, and then the letter arrived. Daniel told me it was from Real Madrid, but I didn’t even want to look at it and tore it up. I went to see Alejandro and told him, in tears, that I wasn’t 100 percent fit. I knew he loved me and wanted me to play, but he put the team first. I was going to try an injection, but after the meeting he decided to go with Enzo Perez over me.”

As mentioned, Di Maria believed that Real Madrid wanted to sell him at that time, so he was worried that playing in the final could make the injury worse, and at the same time affect his transfer value in the market.

The fact that “Los Blancos” want to push Di Maria away at a high price can also be considered a surprise, because before that, the Argentine star had left behind brilliant performances in the 2013/2014 season, especially in the Champions League final.

Di Maria played explosively in the 2014/2015 Champions League final. Photo: Getty

It was Di Maria who opened the “victory” for Real Madrid with a technical dribble and shot, creating conditions for Gareth Bale to score against Atletico Madrid, thereby helping Los Blancos mark the La Decima milestone in the team’s history.

However, Di Maria’s contributions to the national team were finally rewarded when the 36-year-old directly contributed to the two most recent Copa America championships, most notably the 2022 World Cup title.

Di Maria and Argentina won the 2022 World Cup. Photo: Getty

This is considered a worthy reward for what the “angel” has brought to La Albiceleste, and perhaps it will be a long time before Argentine football can produce a special player like what Di Maria has shown.