PSG Star Di Maria Waiting For FC Barcelona To Sign Him

Paris Saint Germain winger Angel Di Maria is reportedly waiting for FC Barcelona to make an approach to sign him.

The Argentina legend and close friend of Lionel Messi is, like Ousmane Dembele, a free agent as of June 30 in a week’s time.

Also akin to the Frenchman, Di Maria looks highly unlikely to sign fresh terms with his current employers, which has put a number of top clubs on high alert.

With Dembele freeing up a space on the right wing for Barca first team manager Xavi Hernandez, the Catalans are already preparing for life after the 2018 World Cup winner.

Though Leeds United and Brazil star Raphinha is their number one target to reinforce that area of the pitch, the 25-year-old’s lofty price tag said to be as high as £65mn ($79mn) is a deterrent to the cash-strapped Catalans in debts of around €1.35bn ($1.4bn), which makes a free transfer for Di Maria a more attractive prospect.

At the same time Dembele is linked to Chelsea, to the extent that he has reportedly already met with their coach Thomas Tuchel to discuss his potential role in the west London team, Di Maria has been tipped to join Juventus ahead of the new season.

The Italian Serie A giants want the veteran to commit to them this week, while having offered him an attractive one-year contract with an optional, additional 12 months that meets his salary expectations.

According to SPORT, however, Di Maria is delaying his decision because he wants to return to Spain and will therefore wait for Barca to approach him.

Playing for their bitter rivals Real Madrid from 2010 to 2014, the Rosario native prefers a potential offer from Barca above all to once more enjoy life on the Iberian continent. Prior to joining Los Blancos, he also put together a three-year stint in the Portuguese capital Lisbon at Benfica.

Now it is a question of time in seeing how things pan out with Dembele, and whether his exit sees Barca push on for Raphinha or opt for the ‘low cost’ option in 34-year-old Di Maria, who comes off a Ligue 1-winning campaign in Paris where he scored five goals and provided eight assists.