Angel Di Maria (foto: uradna spletna stran kluba)
Angel Di Maria has decided against returning to Rosario Central after receiving death threats targeting his family.
Argentinian footballer Angel Di Maria, 36, has abandoned his transfer to Rosario Central following death threats. Di Maria, who recently retired from international duty after winning the Copa America, had expressed a desire to end his career in his hometown after leaving Benfica.
However, he reconsidered his decision to return to Rosario after his family received death threats. The first threats came in March while Di Maria was in the USA with the national team. His sister later received a box at work containing a pig's head with a bullet in its forehead.
“The box also had a note saying the next head in the box would be my daughter Pía’s,” Di Maria revealed. “Those months were terrible; we could only sit and cry,” he added. Argentine authorities described the threats as an attempt by criminal organizations in Rosario to display their power, amid rising drug and gang-related violence in the city.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United forward is now a free agent after leaving Benfica, and the transfer to Rosario has fallen through. Di Maria started his career at Rosario Central, then played for Benfica, Real Madrid, Manchester United, PSG, and Juventus before returning to Benfica in July 2023.
In his international career, Di Maria earned 145 caps, scored 31 goals, and won the World Cup in 2022, two Copa Americas in 2021 and 2024, and an Olympic gold medal in 2008.