In an astonishing revelation, French media outlet Le 10 Sport have claimed that Monaco had an agreement to sign Angel Di Maria before Manchester United in the summer. Monaco almost signed the Argentine well before the World Cup but delays from the nouveau riche French outfit meant that they lost out on a potential prized asset.

It appears that Monaco owner Dmitry Rybolovlev had asked the club’s Vice President Vadim Vasilyev to secure signings without substantial investments. This led to the club’s fallout with Real Madrid to agree a deal for Di Maria.

Paris St Germain then almost secured the signature of the 26 year old as Real Madrid President Florentino Perez wanted to sell the winger. PSG however pulled out at the last moment due to Financial Fair Play regulations.

It was only then that United signed Di Maria for a British record £59.7m on 26th August. Since then the Argentine has hit the ground running in the Premier League and has already started justifying his price tag. The World Cup runner up also revealed that he is motivated by the number 7 shirt.

“When you wear a shirt that’s been worn by the likes of David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo, it’s something you’re always going to be pleased about. The fact that the club have chosen to give me that shirt number also gives me a huge confidence boost, so that’s why I’m very happy to have this number.”