Threat, search for Benfica, competitions, relationship with Coudet and management’s version of Di Maria at Inter

An Argentine journalist reported that Inter were trying to sign Di Maria, who at 36 years old, only has a contract with Benfica until the middle of this year, and can even sign a pre-contract if he wants. As a result, everyone went looking for information. And here I will summarize everything there is on the subject:

• In fact, his family was threatened by drug traffickers in Argentina and the guy is rethinking his return to Rosario, which was something taken for granted until then. Nothing more serious happened to anyone, but there were threats. The city is extremely violent (one of the most dangerous in the country) and the idea would be not to take any risks.
• Di Maria is a starter and has played frequently for Benfica. Despite his age, he is still a protagonist. Furthermore, according to the journalists I spoke to, the Portuguese club’s idea is to even renew his contract for another season. Their president has already said this publicly. So, Benfica is still very much on the cards.
• The newspaper Record, from Portugal, indicated that, if he doesn’t stay in Lisbon, the midfielder is considering going to the United States or Saudi to receive some last money, playing in less demanding football.
• A Portuguese colleague told me that the midfielder is in a very comfortable situation and will choose where he wants to play. Now, it’s not just about money anymore, it’s about where you feel best.
• The player’s agent only says that there is nothing defined about the future. And that goes for everything. There’s no way of knowing if he’ll stay, return to Argentina or negotiate with any other team in the world.
• His relationship with Coudet was mentioned by some colleagues. And I mentioned that it all started in 2006, when Chacho returned to Rosario as a veteran player and Di Maria emerged into the world of football. In 2015, Coudet became a coach and had Di Maria (already famous and with spells at Real Madrid, playing for PSG) as a supporter. In Argentina, they told me that he wasn’t the one who nominated or chose it, but he was certainly consulted and approved. And, okay, that may end up helping, but it’s certainly not the most determining factor.
• At Inter, they inform that they tried to see their situation in the other window, but the idea was not to come to Brazil. Recently, Grêmio tried so much and heard that the guy doesn’t intend to come to Brazil now. So this is the current scenario.