Ángel Fabián Di María (; born 14 February 1988) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a right winger or attacking midfielder for and captains Argentine Primera División club Rosario Central. Known for his dribbling and playmaking, he is regarded as one of the best wingers of his generation and one of Argentina's greatest ever players. He ranks as the all-time Argentine top assist provider, and second overall, in the UEFA Champions League (41) and is Paris Saint-Germain's all-time top assist provider (112). In addition, he is also one of a select number of players who have amassed over 1,000 career appearances.
Di María began his career with Rosario Central but first came into prominence at Benfica after signing for the club in 2007, aged 19. He helped Benfica win the Primeira Liga, the club's first league title in five years, and two Taça da Liga titles. In 2010, Di María moved to Spanish club Real Madrid in a transfer worth €25 million, where he won the 2011–12 La Liga title and the 2013–14 Champions League, amongst other honours. In 2014, Di María was selected in the FIFPRO Men's World 11 and the UEFA Team of the Year. After a falling out with the board at Madrid, he signed for Manchester United in 2014 in a then-British record deal worth £59.7 million (€75.7 million), and inherited the iconic number 7 shirt.
After only one season, Di María left England to join PSG in 2015. In his debut season, he scored the winning goal in the 2016 Coupe de la Ligue final and set a Ligue 1 record with 18 assists in a season, as he won his first of five French league titles as part of a domestic treble. In 2017–18, he was the top scorer in the Coupe de France as PSG won the cup. In 2019–20, Di María was integral in the club's Ligue 1 title win and run to their first Champions League final, finishing as the top assist provider in both Ligue 1 and the Champions League. Di María is one of the club's top goalscorers, with 92 goals. Since leaving PSG in 2022, he has joined Italian side Juventus, re-joined Benfica in 2023, and returned to Rosario in 2025, winning the Primera División in his first season back.
Di María debuted for Argentina internationally in 2008. Playing for the country's Olympic team at the 2008 Olympic Games, Di María scored the winning goal against Nigeria in the final to win Argentina their second successive Olympic gold medal in football. He has 145 caps for his country, including appearing in ten major tournaments; he featured in four FIFA World Cups for Argentina; helping his country reach the final in 2014 and win its third World Cup in 2022, scoring the second goal in the final. Furthermore, Di María was also part of the Argentina squads that reached four Copa América finals, in 2015, 2016, 2021 and 2024, winning the latter two; he netted the only goal in the 2021 final to win Argentina their first trophy in 28 years. He retired from the national team after winning the 2024 Copa América final.
Early life Di María was born on 14 February 1988 in Rosario, as one of three children of Miguel di María and Diana Hernandez, and grew up in Perdriel. As an infant, he was unusually active, and on the recommendation of a doctor was signed up for football at age three. He also helped his parents with their work at a local coal yard along with his two sisters, Vanesa and Evelyn. Due to the low income his family earned, purchasing football boots and keeping up with Di María's hobby was difficult for his parents. He considers himself to be a "family man" and has used a significant amount of his salary to "give back" to his family. After being transferred to Benfica, he asked his father not to work any more and purchased a house for his parents and sisters.
Club career
Rosario Central At age four, Di María joined Rosario Central. As he had already committed to playing for his local club, Torito, 35 footballs were given in compensation.
Di María made his professional debut on 14 December 2005 in Rosario's final fixture of the Apertura, a 2–2 draw away to Independiente, by replacing Emiliano Vecchio. He scored for the first time on 24 November 2006 in the following season's Apertura in a 4–2 win at home over Quilmes, a minute after replacing Leonardo Borzani at half-time. After playing at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada, Boca Juniors made a bid of US$6.5 million for him. He was also approached by English club Arsenal, a move that fell through due to the United Kingdom's strict rules on issuing work permits to players from outside the European Union.
Benfica
Di María was transferred to the Portuguese side Benfica in July 2007, where he played as a winger. He was signed as a replacement for Benfica's departing captain, Simão, who joined Atlético Madrid earlier that summer. Benfica paid Rosario Central €6 million for 80% of his sports rights and 50% of the sports rights of Andrés Díaz. Later, in August 2008, the Portuguese club paid an extra €2 million for the remaining 20%, but re-sold 10% to GestiFute.
Di María had his breakthrough in the 2009–10 season thanks to the trust placed in him by manager Jorge Jesus. On 22 October, in the Europa League group stage match against Everton, he provided a hat-trick of assists for the first time in his career, in a 5–0 thrashing at the Estádio da Luz, marking the biggest loss of an English side in a European competition.Europa League: Everton humbled, Fulham denied ; ESPN Soccernet, 22 October 2009 During that month, Di María signed a new deal with Benfica, adding three more years to his current deal, which was to last until 30 June 2015 with his release fee set at a minimum of €40 million. Afterwards, he was backed by Diego Maradona to become "Argentina's next superstar". He would score a brace in Benfica's 2–1 home win over AEK Athens, to ensure Benfica's qualification to the round of thirty-two, as group winners.
On 27 February 2010, Di María scored his first hat-trick in a classic 4–0 win against Leixões. The next day, he made the headlines as "Magic Tri María" in all sports newspapers in Portugal. He finished as the league's top assister that season with 11 assists, including two in a 5–0 win against Olhanense, as Benfica won the national championship, adding the year's domestic League Cup, while being named Player of the Month in April.
Real Madrid
2010–12: Debut season and La Liga win On 28 June 2010, Real Madrid posted on their website that they had agreed with Benfica for the transfer of Di María. He signed a five-year contract for €25 million, plus €11 million in incentives, as announced one day later by the Portuguese Stock Exchange regulating entity. On 7 July 2010, Di María arrived to Madrid directly from Buenos Aires, and passed the medical test on 8 July. He made his debut on 4 August 2010 in a friendly match against Mexican side América, which Real Madrid won 3–2.The Whites win first preseason match Real Madrid C.F., 5 August 2010. On 22 August, Di María scored his first goal in another friendly away against Hércules, which Real Madrid won 3–1.Hercules v Real Madrid – Goal.com Goal (website), 23 August 2010. In the last match of the pre-season, on 24 August, after an individual play described as a "magic moment", he opened the score of the 2–0 win against Peñarol for the Trofeo Santiago Bernabéu.Real Madrid 2–0 Penarol: Hosts Win Sixth Successive Trofeo Santiago Bernabéu – Goal.com Goal (website), 25 August 2010.
His league debut came on 29 August in a 0–0 draw against Mallorca.Report: Mallorca v Real Madrid – Spanish Primera División – ESPN Soccernet ESPN, 30 August 2010. On 18 September, Di María scored his first league goal for Real Madrid in their 2–1 away win over Real Sociedad.Report: Real Sociedad 1 – 2 Real Madrid ESPN FC, 19 September 2010. Ten days later, he scored his first goal in the UEFA Champions League against Auxerre in a 1–0 victory.Report: AJ Auxerre 0 – 1 Real Madrid Goal (website), 28 September 2010. He scored a controversial first goal against Sevilla on 19 December. Days later, Di María assisted Karim Benzema's two goals and Cristiano Ronaldo's goal in an astonishing 8–0 drubbing of Levante on 22 December. In the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Lyon, he scored the third and final goal in a 3–0 win to send Real Madrid through to the quarter-finals for the first time in seven years.
Di María scored Real Madrid's third goal during their first-leg Champions League quarter-final victory over Tottenham Hotspur on 5 April 2011. On 20 April, he was sent off in the 31st minute of extra time in the Copa del Rey final against rival Barcelona. Real Madrid won the match 1–0, the lone goal of the match (in the 13th minute of extra time) being a header from Ronaldo, which came from his cross, thus obtaining his first honour with Real Madrid.
During the start of the 2011–12 season, Di María endured a tough series of matches as he struggled to adapt to the pace of the league following the summer break. As a result, Di María's early performance for the season was mixed with moments of genuinely good play interspersed with moments of sheer madness by the Argentine. This point was well illustrated during Real Madrid's 1–0 defeat to Levante, a match which saw a clearly out-of-sorts Di María commit a horror foul on Levante's Juanfran during the match. Di María caused the two teams to clash and an on-field incident ensued. However, Di María's performances would improve, including opening up a significant gap at the top of the assists table. From October 2011, Di María was being picked by Madrid head coach José Mourinho ahead of Kaká and Mesut Özil, a sign of his improving form.
On 27 November 2011, Di María played 60 minutes in a league match against city rivals Atlético Madrid, in which he scored a goal for Real Madrid. Mourinho's team won the match 4–1. On 3 December 2011, Di María scored Real's first goal from a sharp angle in a 3–0 defeat of Sporting de Gijón in La Liga. He was a constant threat and presence in the starting XI as Real Madrid won their 32nd league title, playing in their 3–0 win over Athletic Bilbao that clinched the league title.
2012–14: La Décima and Copa del Rey title Di María scored his first goal of the season against Barcelona in the first leg of the 2012 Supercopa de España at Camp Nou after a mistake by Barcelona goalkeeper Víctor Valdés. Although Di María did not have the best season, he did contribute in big moments, most notably by sending in the cross for Ronaldo's goal against Manchester United on 13 February, he registered seventeen assists, and scored nine goals throughout the season in 52 appearances, notably against Atlético Madrid and Málaga. On 9 August 2012, Di María signed a new contract with Real Madrid, keeping him at the club until 2018.
On 2 October 2013, Di María scored two goals against Copenhagen in Real Madrid's 4–0 Champions League victory over them. Later in the season, due to tactical decisions by the club's new manager Carlo Ancelotti, Di María's playing position was permanently switched to that of an offensive–minded central midfielder, and he was frequently deployed in the starting line-up alongside Luka Modrić and Xabi Alonso in midfield in the team's 4–3–3 formation. He contributed to the club's 2–1 victory over Barcelona in the 2014 Copa del Rey Final with the opening goal. Di María was the top assist maker in La Liga for the season, contributing 17.
In the 2014 Champions League Final against Atlético Madrid on 24 May 2014, Di María dribbled past two players before producing a save from goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Di María's teammate Gareth Bale, was there to head the rebound into the net in the 110th minute, giving Real Madrid a 2–1 lead over Atlético in an eventual 4–1 win. Di María was named man of the match by UEFA after the match, and was presented with the honour by former Manchester United head coach Sir Alex Ferguson.