Gary Neville responds to ‘awful’ Angel Di Maria after wife called Manchester a ‘s***hole’

Di Maria’s wife, Jorgelina Cardoso, made headlines around the world this week when she called Manchester a “shithole”

Gary Neville has responded to claims from Angel Di Maria’s wife that Manchester is a “sh*thole”, arguing that the Argentine was “awful” for Manchester United and played like “a drain”.

Di Maria’s wife, Jorgelina Cardoso, made headlines around the world this week when she called Manchester a “shithole”, describing people from the city as “weird” and the local food “disgusting”.

Di Maria moved to United from Real Madrid in 2014 for a then record fee for a British club, only do depart for Paris Saint-Germain one disappointing season later.

And now Neville has hit out at his “awful” spell at the club while addressing Cardoso’s controversial comments about the city of Manchester.

Neville told Sky Sports: “All I would say is, we hear these stories from time to time where a player has played like a drain, like Di Maria did at Manchester United.

Angel Di Maria and his wife Jorgelina Cardoso (Rex Features)

“He was awful and I had high expectations and excitement when he came to the club thinking we were signing a top player. He was never interested from day one.

“What he needs to do is look across the road at Sergio Aguero, his Argentinian compatriot or Pablo Zabaleta who have done alright in Manchester and haven’t been in a rush to leave.

“I will defend my city to the hilt and she did have an unfortunate experience where there was a robbery, which would hamper you mentally and would cloud your judgement of the city.”

The Di Marias have since settled in Paris, with the winger proving a success at PSG, although Cardoso added in the interview that she hopes to soon return to her native Argentina.