"He could not stand the pressure" – Van Gaal responds to Man Utd's failure

Louis van Gaal retaliated against Angel Di Maria after the Argentine winger blamed him for failing to meet expectations at Old Trafford.

Di Maria joined Manchester United from Real Madrid in the summer of 2014 for a record £ 59.7 million ($ 75 million / € 69.9).

Expectations were great for the striker, but he did not live up to his potential in a season with United.

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The 31-year-old started well, but slowed down as the season progressed, finishing with four goals and 12 badists in 32 appearances.

After a single campaign, the Argentine international then left United and joined Paris Saint-Germain, where he still plays today.

Before the match between Man Utd and PSG in the Champions League, he made it clear where he had blamed United for his failure.

"There were complications with the coach at the time," Di Maria said in January.

However, Van Gaal insisted that the striker's struggles in England were the fault of no one except his own.

"Di Maria said it was my problem, I played it in every position, you can check that," Van Gaal told the BBC.

"He never convinced me in any of those positions – he could not handle the continued pressure exerted on the ball in the Premier League – that was his problem."

Prior to United, Di Maria had scored 36 goals in 190 games with Real Madrid before moving to England.

Di Maria has since shone in Ligue 1 after his stint at Old Trafford, where he is on the verge of winning his third league title in his fourth season with the Paris club.

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He has also scored 66 goals in his club so far, including 16 in the current campaign.

The 31-year-old, however, was unable to help PSG overcome its backlog in Europe, with the club coming out in the quarter-finals in its first season and the last 16 in each of the last three campaigns.

This year, they were eliminated by Manchester United despite a cumulative lead of 2-0 in the approaching match.