Manchester United Still Hopeful of Angel Di Maria Signing After Real Star's PSG Snub

Manchester United's hope of sealing a deal for Real Madrid star Angel di Maria is boosted after the winger snubbed a chance to join Paris Saint-Germain this summer.

The Mirror reports the Argentine international is not willing to join the Ligue 1 champions as he has set his sights on playing in the Premier League next season. The 26-year-old has long been on the radar of the Old Trafford club.

United's new boss Louis van Gaal is an admirer of Di Maria and wants to land the talented winger in the ongoing transfer window. The Red Devils will have a major roadblock in bringing the Champions League winning star to England.

The Premier League club finished seventh in the previous campaign and will miss out on Champions League next season. Di Maria won Europe's elite club competition with Real earlier in May.

The World Cup winger wants to play in the Champions League and a move to United will not help achieve it, at least for a year. The Red Devils are confident they will return to Europe a year later and are persuading Di Maria's camp to convince the player to make a switch to Old Trafford.

The Spanish capital club has already decided to allow Di Maria to leave Santiago Bernabeu in the summer transfer window. The Spanish newspaper AS claims Real have set their sights on signing Colombia World Cup star James Rodriguez as a replacement for the Argentine.

A report from Marca suggests the AS Monaco attacker is closing in on joining the 10-time European champions. The Colombia international's agent has already admitted that interested clubs should cough up £59.8m (€75m) for the winger's services.

With Real stepping up their interest in Rodriguez, Di Maria could be forced to leave Real. PSG have already invested heavily in signing David Luiz from Chelsea and the UEFA's Financial Fair Play could block the French club from signing the winger from the La Liga giants.

Di Maria's PSG snub and FFP being a road block for them in signing the winger could pave the way for United in sealing a deal for the World Cup star this summer, even without Champions League action.