After his successful spell in Europe, Angel Di María returned in the 2025 season to the Argentine club where he began his professional career, Rosario Central.
Having played with Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid and briefly coinciding at Paris Saint-Germain with Lionel Messi (with whom he also shared several years in the Argentine national team), when it came to choosing the best player in the world, he did not lean towards either of them.
Di María passes on Messi and CR7
The 37-year-old veteran striker played alongside Portuguese star Ronaldo at the Santiago Bernabéu between 2010 and 2014. Based on his work ethic, Angel praised the current Al-Nassr captain over Leo Messi in terms of professionalism, as, in his words, the Argentine ’10’ has a divine gift:
“Cris [Ronaldo] was all about hard work and effort to be number one, but Messi, drinking mate in the dressing room, showed that he had a God-given gift to be the best,” Di María told AS.
Angel and Leo shared several years, games, and moments together. Not all of them were good, but their best moment was undoubtedly when they managed to break the Albiceleste‘s 28-year title drought and won the 2021 and 2024 Copa América and the 2022 World Cup. After the last title, Di María decided to hang up his boots with the Argentine national team, stating that his cycle there was over and that now “it’s someone else’s turn.”
With a past at Benfica, Manchester United, PSG, Juventus, and Real Madrid, ‘Fideo’ was asked about another young player with whom he shared a locker room and, at the same time, had to face: Kylian Mbappé. The French striker was his teammate at the Parisian club and almost his executioner in the Qatar 2022 final. For this reason, Ángel did not hesitate to highlight him as “the best”:
“Kylian has been among the best in the world for years. Then, collective titles have a big influence on individual distinctions, but he proves every day that he is among the greatest and today he is the best,” said Di María, adding: “When he found his way of playing, he became a player who makes a difference.”
Now, ahead of a new edition of the World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico and will begin on June 11, Angel will be on the other side of the field, cheering like any other fan and watching his teammates defend the title they won in 2022.
The Argentina national team is in Group J, alongside Austria, Algeria, and Jordan, and will make its debut against Algeria on Tuesday, June 16. It will then face Austria on Monday, June 22, and Jordan on Friday, June 26.
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