Angel Di Maria has revealed that his plans of a "dream" return to former team Rosario Central fell apart due to death threats his family received.
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Di Maria wanted Rosario returnFamily received horrific death threatsAlso sent pig's head with a bulletWHAT HAPPENED?
As his contract at Benfica neared its end, Di Maria explored the possibility of making a long-awaited return to Rosario, where he came through the youth ranks to become a first-team star at the beginning of his career. However, a series of horrifying threats aimed at his family, including a pig's head with a bullet and gunshots being fired at a gas station, put an end to any hope of the deal going through – as per .
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Di Maria explained that he was in talks with the Rosario president over a possible move this summer, but he made it clear that no amount of money would persuade him to return due to the risk to his family.
"I made the decision after the first threat was made. I was in the United States with the national team and I said that it was impossible to return. That was on March 25," he told . "I remember that a few days later [Rosario Central president] Gonzalo Belloso wrote to me and asked me how I was, how my family was. And I told him: 'F*ck it'. I'm not going to return to Rosario like this. They threatened my family and I'm not going to allow that. At any price, no.
"Time went by and I spoke to Gonzalo again, it was in May, and I told him that I wasn't going to return, that I wasn't going to be able to rest easy knowing that something could happen at any moment, that for many Central comes first, but not for me, for me, my family comes first, no matter who it may be."
WHAT DI MARIA SAID
The threats did not go directly to Di Maria, as his parents and his sister received threats at their homes and workplaces.
"There was a threat in my parents’ neighborhood. It was everywhere, and at the same time there was another threat at my sister’s real estate agency that didn’t come to light because my sister and brother-in-law got scared and didn’t report it," he added. "It was a box with a pig’s head and a bullet in the forehead, and a note that said that if I returned to Central, the next head would be my daughter’s… Then there was the threat from the gas station where the shots were fired, which wasn’t long ago. Any employee or person who was there at the time could have died there, crazy. I think there were too many things to make this decision, it’s not just written threats, there were shots and serious things."
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR DI MARIA?
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United player retired from international football after winning the Copa America with Argentina. He is now a free agent after leaving Benfica and, having decided against the Rosario return, will likely look for another club to join before he hangs up his boots.