It is safe to say that Argentina national team manager Lionel Scaloni and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Angel Di Maria are currently not on good terms.
Scaloni recently released the squad list for Argentina’s upcoming international fixtures next month. The list had the usual names, including FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi. But one surprising omission from the list was Di Maria. The Argentine has been one of the top playmaking midfielders in Europe over the past year. Still, Scaloni felt that it was best to keep Di Maria out of the squad this time around.
Di Maria was clearly not pleased with Scaloni’s decision. While it had been a while since Di Maria had a strong run of showings for the national team, he did up his form as of late and made a strong case to Scaloni with his play as to why he deserved a call-up.
Now, Scaloni has responded (via TYC Sports) to Di Maria’s comments. Scaloni did not directly provide reasoning as to why he did not pick Di Maria for the squad list but rather did not rule out a possible call-up for him in the future.
“We do not close the door to him or to anyone,” Scaloni said. “On the contrary, the national team belongs to everyone. Right now things are like this and that does not imply that in the future it cannot be the opposite.”
Argentina is currently in a transitional period as several longtime players such as Gonzalo Higuain and Javier Mascherano recently retired from featuring in international duty. Still, Di Maria surely has much more to offer to the national team.
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