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Why Angel Di Maria's time at Man United wasn't a complete failure

Why Angel Di Maria's time at Man United wasn't a complete failure

All signs point to Angel Di Maria’s tenure at Old Trafford expiring after one season, and overall, Manchester United expects to lose money on the Argentine midfielder. Despite Di Maria’s ultimate failure at United, neither manager Louis van Gaal nor Di Maria walks away with a black eye or a tarnished reputation.

Van Gaal made aggressive purchases upon his arrival at Old Trafford, and Di Maria’s record fee of $90 million-plus ranked the highest of the bunch. In the end, Van Gaal and United achieved their goal of finishing in the Premier League's top four and securing a playoff berth for the Champions League. Based on that accomplishment alone, the Dutchman’s first season could be deemed a success.

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Weighing Van Gaal’s $25 million rental fee for Colombian striker Radamel Falcao, who proved to be an absolute waste of money, the Di Maria loss on sale will not go down as Van Gaal’s worst bit of business over the last year. Much like Falcao’s return to his parent club at season’s end did not surprise supporters, Di Maria's departure should not shock those who stuck around Old Trafford for the final rounds of the 2014-15 campaign.

In fact, Di Maria earned only one start over United’s final 10 matches of the 2014-15 season. While Van Gaal maneuvered the Red Devils to a necessary fourth-place finish, his most expensive signing contributed more as a spectator than as a player. The fact is that Di Maria completely lost his way late in the season, and, to his credit, he did not claim conspiracy or trump up a narrative of locker room bust-ups. The  27-year-old did not deserve to play.

Van Gaal offered Di Maria chance after chance, but the former Real Madrid man consistently offered subpar cameos. His last official goal for Manchester United came in January against lower league Yeovil Town in an FA Cup game. In the Premier League, Di Maria started English domestic football with a flurry of three goals in his first four games. By season's end, Di Maria still only had three Premier League goals to his name.

After a special performance in the 2014 Champions League final and a respectable 2014 World Cup outing, Di Maria did not live up to expectations wearing United’s famous No. 7 shirt. Luckily for the club, Di Maria showed quality at the 2015 Copa America to increase his value on the open market.

For PSG, Di Maria displayed enough over the summer to reignite interest after failing to lure him from Madrid a summer earlier. For United, the arrival of Memphis Depay and the resurgence of Juan Mata had already figured to make it tough for Di Maria to increase his playing time and, consequently, his market value, which would only decrease with spot substitute appearances.

A January sale would have left the Argentine cup-tied for the Champions League, likely leaving United with a lower fee from the Parisian club. So for all parties involved, a summer transfer makes sense.

Sometimes, a player’s talent and a manager’s style simply do not fit. Di Maria did well to move on before the situation became toxic or graphic (search “Luca Toni Louis Van Gaal”). Everything considered, Angel Di Maria at Manchester United was not a success. But it wasn’t an absolute failure, either.

Shahan Ahmed is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports helping covering the beautiful game globally. Follow Shahan on Twitter: @ShahanLA and @perfectpass