So according to Don Balon, Di Maria is going to get that contract improvement: http://www.donbalon.com/web/noticia/i-5375/di-maria-cobrara-lo-que-pide-al-real-madrid
Zing...... He just needs to improve his decision making a little bit and he might even get his own lovefest. Even then there is plenty to like about this fella. He's proved a lot of people wrong, including me. Asking for a contract improvement after 1 good season?? How many years did he sign for? Usually contract improvements come with an extension. If he's still got like 5 years to run on his contract he probably won't be getting an extension.
Yeh but if he was promised that he would get an improved contract if he performs well, there isn't anything wrong in getting what was promised.
Still mind boggling that he would get an improved contract after a single good season. I'm sure when he has a bad run of form next season he will renegotiate lower pay...
It can be taught, but I don't think he's stupid. Dude is only 23. He will get better with more experience. I've said this before, I think he is the closest thing I've seen to a young Giggs. Angel is a 'baller.
lol, he has made some poor decisions near the goal, but he also made some excellent decisions in front of goal. The win against Lyon and others comes to mind. I think he gets a little carried away at times, he's a young guy with a lot of energy and confidence and thinks he can take on the world. Sometimes he's right, sometimes he's wrong. With experience, and maybe a little more drilling from Mou, staff and teammates, he should correct this and become truly world class (if he isn't already). Although he can be frustrating at times, Di Maria for me is untouchable based on last season's form. Non-transferable, and mostly unbenchable. He will prove any and all remaining naysayers wrong, to be sure. Good comparison, and a hell of a compliment. Giggs was a truly phenomenal player for a long time, and is still an excellent option at 36 (or however old he is). A hell of a compliment, but one of which I think Di Maria is worthy.
AFAIK his wages are one of the lowest on the squad. (lower than most bench riders actually) because he negotiated it in this way to lower (?) his transfer fee (or make madrid wanna spend more on the transfer fee). It is somewhat normal to me (certainly if they promised him) to improve his contract if he's a starter for most of the season and did very well. (for the record, im sure hes not asking for ronaldo sized wages here, but a bit of an increase to get him on even terms with say, pepe?)
How? People keep saying "it can be taught" as if there's some magical set of pylon cones that you can run around and all of a sudden you make all the right decisions. I think it's more him adjusting to the fact that he no longer needs to do everything on his own and that you can trust your teammates. To me, it's lack of experience with a top club more than anything.
Scouting reports and tactical instructions all feed into a players decisions on the pitch. I believe we have some of the best technical staff in the world when it comes to that, so the decisions made on that basis won't have much scope for improvement. But the players knowledge of his own capability will also be an input, as will his awareness of what his team-mates will do in any given scenario, and that is where Angel is perhaps lacking at times. He will come to know his own real attributes (and those of his team-mates) better with more time and training at Valdebebas. I agree with this sentiment. Like I said, he's only 23 and he has a hat-full of assists and goals for us already. He will improve with time. Remember that even players like Figo and now Ronaldo sometimes make awful decisions, but that's because they can usually pull off the wrong decisions because they are that damn good.
Most of the bench riders didn't require us to pay over the odds. I am not saying he doesn't deserve to get a raise eventually, but after a single season is silly. Remember Pepe himself was underpaid for a while as a result of his transfer being so friggen expensive... its the nature of the game. I honestly have no problem with him being on about the same payscale as a Higuain after two more seasons here. If he really wanted to have a raise after his first year then it would have been a simple matter of building incentives into his contract...
Like Umar mentioned before, the improved decision-making comes with experience, trust/chemistry with teammates and further understanding of one's strengths and weaknesses. All stuff that can be learned or improved upon. Should be a good year for the Thin Man.
Apparently there was some sort of gentleman's agreement that if he met certain metrics his first season the Club would revamp his contract. Obviously he met them and it looks like the Club is keeping its promise. I don't see what the big issue is besides a little bit naivete on the player's part making it public. But there was no maliciousness or mercenary intent, it seems like he was just stating the facts.
Angel may need to work on his decision making as some are saying but his effort (which can't be taught) is as good as it gets. DM has an incredible work rate, love the player and hope he is with us for a long time. This kid would literally run himself into the ground if he thought the team would benefit.
He accepted a lower pay to come here in the first place. This contract renegotiation will merely bring his compensation back up to a more normal figure, I presume.
I am familiar with the claims of some nebulous gentleman's agreement. I somehow doubt the agreement was about the very first year of his performance... but it would have been a simple matter to put it in the actual contract, then we wouldn't have had this stupid shit about using the media to get a raise which I hate to see. He dives and goes public with contract requests... not the kind of behavior I like to see. He is young though, maybe his decision making will improve beyond just what to do with the ball... So we get a one year discount for the huge transfer fee? Doesn't really make sense IMO. I mean if he had played a couple seasons at the lower wage and demonstrated his was worth the massive transfer fee... that's when he gets the big bucks. I am also assuming he is getting a hefty raise and not just like an extra 200k a year.
He'd probably have 18 goals last season if his brain didn't turn off when he gets close to the penalty area. He's a great player and will only get better but I often find myself thinking during games, "You already did the hard part man now why did you go and take an extra dribble etc." He's great for us but he could have been even greater last season.
Which is frightening considering he played brainless most of the time. I will repeat, imagine Di Maria... with a brain. Absolute nightmare.