Angel Di Maria has completed his transfer to Manchester United from Real Madrid C.F. for a British record fee of £59.7m, signing a five-year contract at Old Trafford.

http://footyroom.com/transfer-center/?league=epl

@V, you are absolutely right. No one was predicting his decline. But his supposed "slump" was the reason he was definitely not in the top three, as you are suggesting.

@Ven: I agree with you about Torres; his decline is only clear in hindsight. At the time, he really was considered one of the best strikers in the world.

But that takes me to an interesting point. You say that it's a poor sign for United that the biggest English transfer fee is for Di Maria, right? Well, honestly, what does that say about Madrid? I mean, Di Maria was their best performer last season, and yet only 60m? Wasn't Pogba being mooted for that same price?

What about Ozil, last year, their 2nd-best player, for only 42m? I mean: this is MADRID we're talking about? How come their superstars, their best players, are not costing as much as the ones they're buying (from Tottenham, Monaco, etc)? Ronaldo is the only one whose sale is unthinkable, and even he came from United, once upon a time.

Meanwhile, don't forget that United were willing to go to 100m two summers ago, for Bale. Levy turned it down, so as not to strengthen a domestic rival. Liverpool, too, would never have sold them Suarez, even for the same money Barcelona forked out.

They'd be looking at a similar price to Di Maria for Hazard, Aguero, and that's only if they could convince their clubs to sell, which they can't.

@TheGame:

"Form is temporary, class is permanent"

That's a quote a lot use often when a great player is in a slump. So when someone like Torres, who was still dominating the EPL with 18 goals, despite seen beeing "in a slump, gets back in form (which people thought he would), what do you get? "3rd Best Player in the World" Torres again. And that's why Chelsea made the splash. Knowing full well that he would be a machine once back in form. And when he wasn't? He still managed to score 18 goals.

That is why we went for him.

Why you went for Di Maria for that much doesn't make sense though. He would be a great fit in your team, but are you really telling me there was no other cheaper option who would (or will have) the same impact as he will?

@Lodatz: But Hazard and Aguero are valuable players to their clubs. Di Maria was brushed off as "not needed". I'm not saying United wouldn't benefit from a beast like him. All I'm saying is, with that money, they could have done better, no matter how much they can spend.

"Why you went for Di Maria for that much doesn't make sense though."

Why not? He is top quality, after all, and the market has gotten more expensive. He just won a European Cup, and was instrumental in the side who did so, not to mention helping his country get to a WC final.

That's not worth 58m? O.o

"But Hazard and Aguero are valuable players to their clubs. Di Maria was brushed off as "not needed". "

And that's bullshit; utter bullshit. Marca are just trying to help cover Madrid's ass, here. DI Maria was Madrid's best performer last season, with only Ronaldo an Bale rivaling him. All this 'surplus to requirements' nonsense is just a smokescreen for getting his enormous wages off their books and the need to get money back after buying James.

It was the same with Ozil, who was, again, their 2nd-best player and someone who no-one in the squad wanted to lose.

@Lodatz: No, he isn't worth 58m. 40-45 made sense. In fact, those were the reported prices at the beginning. But nearly 60m? Come ooooonnnn, that is simply too much no matter how many cups you won in a season or what you did in one season. And I think you can't agree with that. So let's agree to disagree since I seriously need to get back to studying. :P

Now let me ask you one last question before I log out. How was Di Maria doing the season before?

And it wasn't just Marca, mate. Ancelotti himself said Di Maria was not needed. That is enough evidence to prove he was surplus to requirements. Their best player or not, last season. He was not needed, and that's why 58m is shrewd, shrewd business on Madrid's part.

"How was Di Maria doing the season before?"

Meh. He was doing alright. But that's more to do with the fact that I think he was over-rated simply because of what shirt he was wearing. That tends to happen a lot, when it's Madrid and Barcelona, especially.

Perhaps the more pertinent question is: what were Madrid fans saying about him, the season before? I recall them saying he was one of the best players in the world, and that they didn't need Bale, who was supposedly an inferior import from the PL. ;)

And what was being said before the transfer rumours? Again, he was celebrated as one of the best players in the world, by Madrid fans, and named their top performer.

Funny how, in the space of a month (or a Golden Boot World Cup for James) he's now just 'surplus to requirements', isn't it? ;)

It's all about the money, dude. Money. Madrid needed this sale as much as United did.

"Meh"

Exactly! :P

Meh is not the reaction one expects for a 58m player who's best season was one that involved a team in perfect chemistry. Almost every Madrid starter was performing well in their CL-winning season, don't you think? Di Maria was just one of the many benefiting from that. So what will happen to him when he joins a (possibly below-) average United? We will just have to wait and see.

Can't disagree about Madrid fans changing their views quickly about him once he left. He was definitely celebrated greatly while still wearing their shirt.

Thanks for the discussion. It was interesting to see a different perspective on this in detail. See ya. :)

Good signing for Manchester united but that unfortunately won't solve your problems. You have only 6 decent players in the whole current squad which is not enough to compete this season. All top 4 clubs have a decent squad with a decent depth. You are in a transition period and it might take a while till you gain your strength back. I believe what is happening here is the same to what happened to Liverpool and now they are kinda back. As for Manchester United it won't take that much time but at this rate I don't expect anything from Manchester United this year for sure and if next season they don't keep on signing players it will be just the same story of this season.

Your best 6 players are:

1- RVP.
2- Rooney.
3- Mata.
4- Di Maria.
5- De Gea.
6- Kagawa.

^ This is not enough to win the EPL again or possibly make it top 4, sorry.

If I were LVG I would prolly play 4-2-3-1. Play RVP as the main striker. 3 attacking midfielders Kagawa - Rooney - Mata. Ok. Now here is where I would strengthen my squad. (1 CM, 1 CDM and 3 Defenders) with the money you spent you could have easily signed up those players to fill in your weak part of the game. You needed a (CM/CDM/RB/2CBs) then you are set but not completely because to win the EPL you need depth (Just ask Arsenal about injuries) you need a rotation players, so I don't think a 1 year will be enough to address all these issues.

@Ven:

"Meh is not the reaction one expects for a 58m player who's best season was one that involved a team in perfect chemistry."

Now for the revelation that I feel the same way about Costa, and every season he has had before his one (to date) single good one. ;)

Then again, he only cost 32m, and rightly so.

@V, he wasn't necessarily "dominating the EPL with 18 goals" when you consider that Drogba (29), Rooney (26), Bent (24), Tevez (23), and Lampard (22) all scored more than him the previous season. Looking back at it with all his injuries and lack of form, it is a wonder why his decline was not predicted, especially since he was a player that relied so much on his pace which tends to disappear with age. The term "form is temporary, class is permanent" only applies when the player in question is out of FORM. Not performing sub-par on a regular basis. RVP had a lot of injuries in his career, but when he played he was consistently scoring. It is absolutely ludicrous to suggest that he was top three in the world at the time. With Di Maria, of course he is over-priced. But he brings something United are desperately lacking at this time, which is pace.

@Vendetta
When Torres signed for Chelsea, even if you do claim that he is the "top 3 strikers in the world", there were even some eyebrows raised then, about him signing for 50 million pounds. I'm sorry but how could you compare di Maria coming to United for 59.5 million pounds, coming off a great season and an especially strong ending to the season, to Torres, playing worse than he has in years in the 2010/2011 season and coming for about 50 million pounds which is about 53 million including inflation. And this was 4 years ago and between that time, the nature of transfers and football has changed in the sense that players are pretty damn expensive so he would be much more expensive today had the transfer gone through today.

edit: 59.5 million

In other news, we're looking to actually bid for Vidal.
https://twitter.com/UtdReport/status/504400745882738689

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-united/11056019/ngel-di-Maria-signs-for-Manchester-United-in-59.7-million-deal.html

Everything Mark Ogden says comes straight from the horse's mouth. Though even some of the reliable United journalists have been wrong this transfer window, I still trust him because he's not really said anything but when he has, he's been accurate. Getting Vidal will definitely solve a piece of the center midfield problems. We're also apparently looking to bring in de Jong for a back up for Strootman in January. Things are looking better than it was a week ago.

Oh now that is a Burn.

Great purchase, but I can't help but think that United's problems won't be solved just by this di Maria capture.

Meanwhile for Madridistas, a short and sad story below. I genuinely feel sad that he left. He always gave it his all on the pitch, and threw in some fantastic performances on our way to la Decima. He is also the second player for whom Ronaldo has asked Perez personally to keep at the club (Ozil being the first). Ramos asked too, but I guess the deal was already made by that point. :(

@Alex

*"1- RVP.*2- Rooney.
3- Mata.
4- Di Maria"

• I believe di Maria to be a better player than Juan Mata, and based on current form, he is also better than Wayne Rooney. RVP was also injured for most of last season, so I'd be led to believe that di Maria is arguably United's best player right now.

@dynast this di maria transfer reminds me a lot of the ozil transfer. Record breaking transfer for a position where we're already quite strong, comes in and is arguably straight away our best player and becomes essential to the team. He'll probably get the same treatment as ozil got from the english press. Manutd fans prepare for the scapegoating and the "£60m FLOP !" headlines.

@KingHenry

I hope not. di Maria is of a different physical material than Ozil. He does not get tired as easily. But United's team is pretty damn poor, so I wonder if he can throw in the same performances without the Ronaldos, Modrics, and the Benzemas in the team.

However, I do believe that di Maria was a required transfer for United, especially when you look at their other players in that position: Nani, Valencia, and Young all poor, Januzaj the only bright spark. di Maria can also play in CM, so that's a good sign for United.