Soccer-Factbox on Manchester United's Angel Di Maria

Reuters

Aug 26 (Reuters) - Following is a factbox on Argentina winger Angel Di Maria who joined Manchester United for a British record transfer fee of 59.7 million pounds ($98.77 million) on Tuesday. Full name: Angel Di Maria Born: Feb. 14, 1988, in Rosario, Argentina CLUB CAREER Di Maria made his debut for Argentine top-flight side Rosario Central aged 17 in the Apertura 2005 but it was not until the Clausura 2007 that he became a regular. He scored five goals in that campaign and his performances attracted interest from European clubs with Benfica snapping him up in July 2007. He played three seasons for Benfica where he won the Portuguese championship and two League Cups before joining Real Madrid for an initial 25 million euros ($32.93 million)in 2010. Under Jose Mourinho he was a regular in the Real side and stood out with his passing although he was inconsistent. He won the 2011 King's Cup and a year later the La Liga title. The 2013-14 season saw the arrival of new manager Carlo Ancelotti and Di Maria's position in the side appeared uncertain with the world record signing of another left-footed winger in Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur. However, Di Maria showed great determination to find a place in Ancelotti's side, playing in a deeper role on the left of a three-man midfield. He came to the fore during the second half of the campaign and was a key factor in Real winning the 2014 Champions League and King's Cup. Ancelotti was keen to keep hold of Di Maria but the player felt undervalued by the club and the signing of Colombia midfielder James Rodriguez ahead of the 2014-15 season signalled his eventual departure. INTERNATIONAL CAREER Di Maria played for the Argentina Under-20 side that were runners-up in the 2007 South American Championship and the same year won the Under-20 World Championship. In 2008 he won gold at the Beijing Olympics and scored the only goal in the final against Nigeria. Di Maria made his debut for Argentina's senior team in September, 2008, against Paraguay and became a regular in the side but was criticised by many as they struggled at the 2010 World Cup and were eliminated in the quarter-finals. Di Maria was an influential figure as Argentina reached this year's World Cup quarter-finals but was injured in the win over Belgium before they went on to lose to Germany in the final. ($1 = 0.6044 British Pounds) ($1 = 0.7591 Euros) (Compiled by Tim Hanlon; Editing by Justin Palmer and Ken Ferris)