SAN JOSE, Sporting Alert – Angel Di Maria and Marcos Rojo failed to link up with the rest of the Manchester United squad on tour of the USA this weekend, the club reported on Saturday.
The pair, along with forward Javier Hernandez, were expected to join the Premier League side in Califonia ahead of the Barcelona clash, but manager Louis van Gaal revealed that while the Mexican arrived, the two Argentine international never showed up.
“No,” van Gaal said when asked if Di Maria was with the Manchester United squad in San Jose.
“I have heard he is not on the plane. I cannot say anything. He was not on the plane.
“Marcos Rojo was also not on the plane. He had passport issues. That I do know. But for Di Maria I do not know why.”
Di Maria has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford this summer, with several reports in the media claiming a £46.5m fee for 27-year-old to join Paris Saint-Germain has already been agreed.
It is understood that van Gaal would prefer to keep the winger who cost the club British record £59.7m last season when he moved to Old Trafford from Real Madrid.
The World Cup star struggled in his first campaign in the Premier League and there were reports which claimed he was unhappy with life in Manchester and wanted to move.
Manchester United have shown no signs of wanting to sell Di Maria, but PSG are determined to get the man they almost signed last summer when he was pushed away from Madrid.
The next two days will be interesting in the Red Devils’ camp, as according to reports in a number of newspapers on Sunday, Di Maria is set to join PSG within 48 hours.
Reports even went as far as saying van Gaal has already informed the squad that the Argentina star will not be with the club for the start of the season, while other articles claimed his family has already flown to Paris to sort of living arrangements.
Manchester United were very impressive on Saturday without both Rojo and Di Maria – after beating Barcelona 3-1 in their International Champions Cup pre-season friendly.
It was the EPL side’s third win on the tour of the USA this summer.
Meanwhile, it is understood Manchester United are still hoping to sign German international Thomas Muller.
Muller has been a firm target of the Old Trafford outfits, but van Gaal is finding it difficult to land the attacker.
Reports in England and German have claimed United already had a bid for the World Cup star turned down, as his club Bayern Munich have no interest in selling him.
The word around the United camp is the Red Devils are preparing to make one final offer for Muller, who according to some of his teammates, is not certain to stay with the German champions past this transfer window.
