Ángel Fabián di María Hernández (born 14 February 1988) is an Argentine footballer who currently plays as a winger for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and the Argentine national team. He is nicknamed El Angelito, Di Magia, El Flaco, El Pibito and Fideo, the Spanish word for noodle.
On 28 June 2010, Real Madrid posted on their website that they had come to terms with Benfica for the transfer of di María. He signed a five-year contract for €25 million, plus €11 million in incentives, as announced by the Portuguese Stock Exchange regulating entity. On 7 July 2010, di María arrived to Madrid directly from Buenos Aires,[11] and passed the medical test on 8 July.
He made his debut on 4 August 2010 in a friendly match against Club América, which Real Madrid won 3–2–. On 22 August, di María scored his first goal in another friendly against Hércules CF, which Real Madrid won 3–1. In the last match of preseason, on 24 August, after an individual play described as a "magic moment," he opened the score of the 2–0 win against CA Peñarol, for the Santiago Bernabéu Trophy.
His league debut came on 29 August, in a 0–0 draw against RCD Mallorca. On 18 September, di María scored his first league goal for Real Madrid in their 2–1 win over Real Sociedad. Ten days later, he scored his first goal in the Champions League against AJ Auxerre, in a 1–0 victory. He scored a controversial first goal against Sevilla FC on 19 December. Days later, di María assisted Karim Benzema's two goals and Cristiano Ronaldo's goal in an astonishing 8–0 win over Levante UD on 22 December. In the second leg of the Champions League last 16 round against Olympique Lyonnais, he scored the third and final goal in a 3–0 win to send Real Madrid through to the last eight for the first time in seven years.
