Angel Di Maria says former Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal was ‘the worst manager of his career’ and the Argentine star now has the chance to eliminate the Netherlands from the World Cup

Angel Di Maria will have extra motivation to eliminate the Netherlands from the World Cup.

Argentina will face Louis van Gaal’s team in the quarter-finals at 7 p.m. A place in the semi-final awaits one of these teams.

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There shouldn’t be an additional drive factor for the players, but Di Maria could be aiming to get one on Van Gaal.

The two faced off at Manchester United during the playmaker’s one-season campaign at Old Trafford.

He signed for £59.7million in 2014 but had a nightmare at Manchester.

His wife was scathing about the people, food and climate of the northwest and her stay lasted just a year before joining Paris Saint-Germain in 2015.

Di Maria scored just four goals in 32 appearances in all competitions that season and United fans do not remember him fondly.

He and Van Gaal criticized each other publicly in the years that followed, with the player himself blaming the Dutchman’s gate for his struggles.

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“I was in Manchester and everything was fine with Van Gaal for the first two months,” Di Maria said.

“After a fight, things weren’t the same. The relationship was not the same. The fight with Van Gaal happened because he was always showing me bad and negative things and all of that was holding me back.

“One day, I fought with him. I told him that I didn’t want to see those things anymore, that I was doing good things and asked him why he didn’t show me good things.

“He didn’t like the way I talked to him and from there the whole problem started.”

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Then in 2021, Di Maria launched a new attack on the 71-year-old.

He told TyC Sports: “My problem at Manchester was the manager.

“Van Gaal was the worst of my career. I was scoring, assisting and the next day he was showing me my misplaced passes.

“He moved me from one day to the next, he didn’t like players being more than him.”

It wasn’t a one-way street either, as Van Gaal had a few words to say about the 34-year-old.

“Di María was my choice at AZ, seven years ago,” said Van Gaal The Guardian.

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“I was happy because he was a creative player, but I had other players on the list. Di María had a problem with English football culture and the climate. You can’t buy players and know , with certainty, that they can deliver. You cannot know because football is a team sport.

“I always ask a player where he wants to play. For him, it was the wing, wide and especially on the left. In the Argentina team, he plays on the left. I started with him there. He was not performing very well, at a level you would expect from an £80million player.

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“So I think I have to see if another position is better for him. I played him left winger, as a 10, second striker and right. Then critics say he has to play too many positions. I gave him every chance he had to perform well.

It will be interesting to see what happens if Di Maria scores against the Netherlands on Saturday and if he manages to get past his former boss.