Angel Di Maria has revealed the details of the phone call that convinced him to leave Manchester United and join moneybags Paris Saint-Germain.
United splashed out a record £59.7m on the Argentine from Real Madrid, but sold the pacy winger just one season later, recording a hefty loss of around £15.7m.
And now Di Maria has revealed in an interview with beIN Sports (via the Express) that Blanc phoned him during PSG’s own tour of the States and convinced him to quit United.
The 27-year-old missed United’s pre-season tour of America and was subsequently fined a whopping £360k for his absence.
“The first time we spoke, it was before I signed for PSG,” Di Maria said. “This made me very happy.
“It happened the same way when (Jose) Mourinho made me come to Real Madrid. They called me before I spoke with them.
“Blanc called me when he was in the United States and I was still on holiday. He said he was very happy to recruit me, that he had wanted me for several seasons.
“Obviously, this gave me an added incentive to sign for PSG.”
Di Maria has made a good start to his PSG career, scoring seven times and assisting 10 in 19 appearances for the French Champions.