Updated 31 January 2024 at 23:56 IST
Angel di Maria has had a wonderful career at the country and club level. The attacking midfielder has played for some of the most renowned European clubs in the last half a decade and has pretty much tasted success everywhere. As an experienced campaigner, who has played in four of the top five leagues, he has formed a camaraderie with some of the prominent players in the world. Thus, when it comes to naming the best XI he has played alongside, Di Maria has all the accolades to do so.
The Argentine World Cup winner recently came up with the team of XI men, that he deems are the best players in world football. The likes of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, and Neymar Jr. have made it to the list. But the notable absentee from his list has been Cristiano Ronaldo. Di Maria shared the dressing room with the 5-time Ballon d'Or winner during his stint with Real Madrid. From 2010 to 2014, Ronaldo and Di Maria were teammates. During the period. the latter assisted the former several times, yet, the Benfica player did not see Ronaldo's entry in his roster.
Interestingly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has made it to the Di Maria XI. To give an overall outlook, Angel di Maria included 4 big names from the PSG side, five from Argentina ( Including himself. Messi overlaps as both a teammate from PSG and Argentina), two from Real Madrid, and one from Benfica.
Here's the Angel Di Maria XI: Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Neymar Jr, Rui Costa, Di Maria, Marcelo, Otamendi, Mascherano, Sergio Ramos, and Emi Martinez.
Published 31 January 2024 at 20:04 IST