Ángel Di María

Ángel Di Maria holds both Italian and Argentine passports, as his ancestors were from Italy.

In 2011, he got married to Jorgelina, a fellow Argentine. They have a daughter named Pia.

Ángel is considered to be a family man. He used his first paycheck to make his father quit his job. Soon, he bought a house for his family.

Ángel Fabián Di María was born in Rosario, Argentina, on February 14, 1988, to Miguel and Diana María. He grew up with two sisters. His family was poverty-stricken. For the first few years of his life, Ángel did not even have access to the basic amenities that are required to live.

As a child, he was active in sports. His parents were told by doctors that his unusually good stamina could lead him to become a great footballer. As a result, his parents enrolled him at a local football club when he was 4 years old.

Due to his family’s poor financial conditions, they could not afford to give him sports shoes and a football to practice at home. Ángel had once stated in an interview that had he gotten shoes and a football, his sisters would be deprived.

His father worked at a local coal yard to make ends meet. He earned a meager income. Ángel also started working alongside his father. Soon, his sisters joined them. Ángel would spend all day at the football academy and then leave directly for his workplace. He worked hard to earn some additional money.

Ángel joined the youth wing of ‘Rosario Central’ in 1995 and honed his skills there. He scored the first professional goal of his life in 2006 in the ‘Apertura’ tournament against ‘Quilmes.’ He was also part of national under-20 team that played in the ‘FIFA World Cup.’ There, he performed exceptionally well and bagged a $6.5 million offer from ‘Boca Juniors.’

He was also approached by the ‘English Premier League’ team ‘Arsenal,’ but his negotiations with Arsenal were not successful. The strict ‘European Union’ (EU) laws did not allow work permits to players from outside the Union.

In July 2007, he officially joined ‘Benfica,’ a Portuguese local team, and started playing as a winger. He performed well with the team and the managers soon considered offering him another contract. In 2009, he was retained for three more years. In October that year, one of the world’s greatest footballers, Diego Maradona, praised his skills and said that he was “Argentina's next superstar.”

In February 2010, Ángel scored his career’s first hat-trick against ‘Leixões.’ Following this, the Portuguese media touted him as the next superhero. Several news channels and newspapers featured him.

In June 2010, ‘Real Madrid,’ one of the best football clubs in the world, made an official announcement that they were in talks with ‘Benfica’ for Ángel’s transfer. On August 29, 2010, he made his league debut for ‘Real Madrid’ in a match that ended in a draw.