SANTA CLARA, California – Moments following Manchester United's 3-1 beat down of the treble champions FC Barcelona, United manager Louis Van Gaal let the cat out of the bag when the topic of Argentine winger, Angel Di Maria came up.
"He is not on the plane, and I don't know why he did not get the plane," Van Gaal told the media after the match at Levi's Stadium on Saturday.
Di Maria was supposed to join up with his Manchester United teammates during their preseason tour of the United States for the International Champions Cup, but reportedly the former Real Madrid star was unhappy in his first season at Old Trafford and prefers a move to Paris Saint-Germain.
Manchester United is set to square off with PSG in Chicago on Wednesday, and after training on Monday, PSG manager Laurent Blanc all but confirmed that Di Maria was heading to France.
"In the Di Maria case, the whole thing is close to being over," Blanc said. "I'm rather positive about it."
Di Maria stayed behind as his agent, Nasser Al Khelaifi (PSG's Owner) and Oliver Letang are in London negotiating the transfer fee with United vice-chairman Ed Woodward.
Di Maria signed for a EPL record $92.2 million last year, but was at odds with Van Gaal after he was ejected in the FA Cup defeat to Arsenal.
Meanwhile, PSG stars David Luiz and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have been campaigning for Di Maria to come to Paris, telling Le Parisien and ESPN FC that he would improve the team on their quest to be the best team in Europe.
"We want to win the Champions League," Luiz said. "If it was up to me I'd like to sign many players. Of course he is a player that can help us go up another step. It's about details in the Champions League."
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