Ángel Di María Heads Back To Benfica
SL Benfica announced the return of Ángel Di María on Wednesday. He has signed a one-year contract with the club.
Di María rejoins the Portuguese side after 13 years away. He last played for Benfica from 2007-2010 after he had first moved away from his childhood club Rosario Central in Argentina.
He's back. pic.twitter.com/kdaFawXf9F
— SL Benfica (@slbenfica_en) July 5, 2023
Di María rejoins after spending last season with Juventus in Italy. Before his time in Turin, he had seven successful seasons at PSG in Ligue 1.
While in France, he made 295 appearances for PSG and scored 92 goals for the club. He also won five Ligue 1 titles during his stay in Paris.
Besides his successful stint with PSG, Di María has also played for Manchester United and Real Madrid.
Following the announcement that Di María would not extend his stay with Juventus, rumors immediately began swirling about where the 35-year-old would end up.
Saudi Arabia seemed like a likely destination for the Argentine attacker. Following Cristiano Ronaldo‘s move to Al-Nassr in January, the Saudi Pro League has become money-making heaven for some of soccer’s global superstars.
Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kanté headline the players that have moved to Saudi Arabia so far this summer. With the money that some of these Saudi Pro League teams can dish out, Saudi Arabia looked like a realistic destination for Di María.
He was also linked with a move to MLS side Inter Miami. Following Lionel Messi‘s move to the club earlier this window, just about everyone who has had anything to do with the Argentine superstar has been linked with a move to Miami.
Sergio Busquets has already joined Messi in South Florida and Jordi Alba looks set to follow suit. A move to Inter Miami for Di María, who is a close friend of Messi’s, did not seem out of the realm of possibilities.
Rather than cashing out and moving to one of these places, however, he decided to return to Benfica. His career has come full circle now as he rejoins his first European club.
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