After the expiration of his contract with Juventus, Ángel Di María had no shortage of offers, but he chose to return to Benfica, the team for which he played from 2007 to 2010.
Several high-profile players moved to Saudi Arabia this summer after Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al Nassr earlier in the year, but Di Maria made a different decision.
He shared with D Sports Radio: “They called me from Saudi Arabia, I received a lot of calls from them. The figures they presented were crazy, but I followed my heart, I wanted to return to Benfica.”
Over the past summer, many European stars have moved to Saudi Arabia, including Benzema, Neymar, Sadio Mane, Kante, Ruben Neves, Koulibaly, Mendy, Firmino and more. This is just the beginning, as Arab clubs are not subject to financial regulations like UEFA. This means they have no salary caps and can attract top players to the Middle East.
However, Di María’s decision to return to Portugal seems quite right, as he scored in his debut match against Porto, helping Benfica win the Cándido de Oliveira Supertaca. Di María later scored in matches against Boavista and Estrela.
In the early stages of his time at Benfica, Di María performed well and caught the attention of Real Madrid. He had four successful years at the Bernabéu, winning the Champions League.
After a brief spell at Manchester United that was not easy, Di María signed for Paris Saint-Germain, where he won five Ligue 1 titles.
Di María also had an impressive international career with Argentina. He was a key factor alongside Lionel Messi in winning the World Cup last year and the Copa América in 2021.
