Louis van Gaal told Man United squad only Angel Di Maria could do one thing

Wayne Rooney has revealed that former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal told the squad that only Angel Di Maria was allowed to do one thing.

Rooney, 38, was the club captain under Van Gaal at Old Trafford. He won the FA Cup with the Dutch head coach but that was the season after Angel Di Maria was at the club.

United signed the Argentine winger from Real Madrid in the summer of 2014 for £60 million and he was one of many big stars to underwhelm in the famous no.7 shirt.

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Di Maria left the club after one season. He registered four goals and 12 assists throughout that campaign.

However, it has since been revealed by Wayne Rooney that the Argentine was the only player who had the freedom to dribble in Van Gaal’s strict possession system.

In a column with The Sunday Times in 2020, Rooney recalled the time that Van Gaal told the squad, and offered praise for his former teammate.

The forward wrote: “He’s a wonderful player. When he came to United, I remember Louis van Gaal saying to the team, ‘He is the only one who is allowed to dribble with the ball.’

“Angel works tirelessly on the pitch and his delivery, vision and awareness is brilliant,” added Rooney.

Ultimately, his time at Old Trafford is not well remembered, but the former Birmingham City and Derby County manager has offered his opinion on why Di Maria was not a success at the club.

“He could have been a major star at United but at the time we were going through a bit of a transition and it was tough for him to settle,” explained Rooney.

“He had young kids and lived a couple of houses down from me and someone tried to burgle him. I remember that really shook him and his family. From then on, really, you knew it was going to be tough for him and it was probably better for him to leave.”