Ángel di María has admitted the chance to work with manager Louis van Gaal was a principle reason for moving to Manchester United.

The Argentina midfielder left Real Madrid last month to sign for United for a British record fee of £59.7 million.

Now Di María has acknowledged that the presence of former Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach Van Gaal was a major factor in his decision to leave Spain.

“Van Gaal was really important for me in order to come here,” Di María told Perform. “[He] was one of the first [people] who spoke about bringing me here. The coach always has the last word about the players he wants. I am really grateful to him because, thanks [to] him, I am now playing for United.

“I keep trying to improve every day and for that reason I wanted to come here to United. I needed to change my life. I will try my best to play the right way. I will try my best every match and show my arrival at Old Trafford was worthy.”