Angel Di Maria: Cristiano Ronaldo's Advice Convinced Me To Join Manchester United

Manchester United star Angel Di Maria has told how Cristiano Ronaldo played a crucial role in his summer move to Louis van Gaal's side, a day before the two meet in the international friendly between Argentina and Portugal on Tuesday 18 November.

The Real Madrid star will return to Old Trafford for the second time since he left the Premier League giants for La Liga giants in 2009, having previously played in 2013 scoring a goal in the Real Madrid 2-1 Champions League last-16 victory over Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

Di Maria and Ronaldo forged an extraordinary attacking duo as well as solid friendship during four seasons together at the Santiago Bernabeu before the Argentinian decided to completed his record £59.7m move to the Premier League this summer.

However it was Ronaldo who convinced Di Maria to join the Premier League giants – having recently revealed that he would have been a Paris Saint-Germain player if the France based club had not encountered a problem with the Financial Fair Play.

"Before we knew I was coming to Manchester for sure, he (Ronaldo) told me it was a massive club and that I would be very happy here and it would be good for me," Di Maria said, according to Manchester United official website.

"At that time, we didn't know for sure that I was coming or not, so we didn't go into great detail, but what he did say helped me greatly to make my decision."

Di Maria reiterated his decision to leave the Champions League winners for the Premier League, claiming that it was a step forward in his career.

"It was a very big moment in my career. Leaving a club like Real and coming to as big a club as Manchester United makes you grow as a player and helps you progress in your career," said Di Maria.

"It was a very important moment and I'm really happy here. Let's hope things go well for me so I can be here for many years."