Chelsea said to have tabled €42m bid for let down Real Madrid star
Published:Real Madrid’s reluctance to bow down to the demands of Angel Di Maria for a pay rise could result in the Argentine winger moving to the Premier League either in the current transfer window or in the summer.
Di Maria has been one of the stars of the La Liga season, with his 13 assists bettering even that of Lionel Messi.
Because of his impressive performances, Di Maria feels he is deserving of salary increase, but his demands have so far been met with deaf ears.
The 23-year-old is tied to Real Madrid until 2016 and currently only earns around £1.5m each year, which is almost half the income of Argentine compatriot Gonzalo Higuain and a small percentage of the sums secured by Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka.
This rejection of a pay increase threatens to undo all of Di Maria’s good work and a Premier League club is ready to take advantage of Real Madrid’s hesitations.
Reports suggest that a club, believed to be Chelsea, have tabled a €42m offer for Di Maria, who may be willing to leave if he feels he has been let down by Real Madrid.
Meanwhile, although Jose Mourinho has taken to Di Maria in the past 12 months, he may decide to accept the offer, given that he has a host of options at his disposal to replace him.
Mesut Ozil has been by no means a regular this season, while Jose Callejon, Kaka and Nuri Sahin may also benefit from a greater number of first-team opportunities.
The signing of Di Maria would also go some way to helping Chelsea improve their current shortage of options in the wide areas and bring some genuine width to their tactics.
Signing Di Maria would be a major coup to helping Chelsea’s odds improve from 8/13 to finish in the top four of the Premier League this season.
