Alright let me tell you how I dug into this whole Angel Di Maria CL trophy thing. Started cause some dude online was screaming about how unfair it was he got a medal without playing the final. Sounded fishy, so I went digging. For no damn reason, just curiosity hitting me at midnight.
First, I gotta know why he wasn’t playing that final anyway. Everyone remembers it was against Real Madrid, his old club. Right. So back in 2014, dude did play the final for Real, helped them win it against Atletico. Key player. Then bam! Summer 2014, Real shipped him off to Manchester United. Felt shady even back then. Real claimed it was about money or something. Bullshit. Everyone knew he was frozen out. Like expired milk, just tossed.
Fast forward, he lands at PSG by 2015. Got his groove back. Then 2016 CL rolls around, PSG faces Man City in the quarters. Di Maria? He was cooking! Scored in the first leg, kept them alive. Without him, PSG might have crashed out right there. Simple as that. He dragged them through that round.
Now comes the juicy bit everyone trips over. The final itself. PSG vs Real Madrid. Right before the big game, Di Maria gets hit with a groin injury during training. Total bad luck. Couldn’t walk it off. Zero minutes played in the final itself. And Real, his old team that kicked him to the curb, wins the damn thing again.
So why the medal? This is where people get stupid. It’s not complicated. UEFA rules are clear as day. You play at least one game in the tournament? You get a medal if the team wins. Doesn’t matter if it’s the group stage or the first knock-out round. Di Maria played against Man City in the quarters. Job done. Medal earned. Period.
I saw some numbskulls online claiming “BUT HE DIDN’T PLAY THE FINAL!” So bloody what? PSG wouldn’t have sniffed the final without him shoving them past City. That contribution counts. The rules say it counts. End of story. Anyone arguing otherwise either doesn’t know the rules or just wants to stir pot. Like those Real fans still salty he left, I bet.
Anyway, took me maybe an hour or two of actual digging to nail this down. Read the tournament rules. Watched highlights of that City tie. Found the injury reports from right before the final. Confirmed UEFA’s stance on winners’ medals. All signs point to one thing: Di Maria 100% earned that trophy fair and square, groin injury or no groin injury in the final match. Case closed. Go argue with UEFA if you don’t like it.
