Real Madrid sold Angel Di Maria ‘because he’s too ugly’

Angel di Maria is at Manchester United because he's ugly.

So says a former Barcelona director and player. Carles Rexach has claimed that Florentino Perez only wants glamorous players at the club and Di Maria didn't fit the profile. He also said the Real Madrid president has a history of making decisions based on looks, citing Vicente Del Bosque's sacking as manager in 2003. 'Vicente del Bosque and Di Maria are too ugly for Real Madrid. They are different from Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez'. ‘Florentino Perez looks at the world market and wants a team of Galacticos for everyone to admire. ‘(Cristiano) Ronaldo is the flagship of the club. Perez is selling an international brand'. Considering his links with Madrid's biggest rivals, Rexach's comments should seemingly be taken with a pinch of salt. But he's not the first to make the claims about the reasons behind Del Bosque's sacking. The current Spain manager won two Champions League, the World Club Cup and two league titles in his four year spell at the Bernabeu. The club were in their first Galactico stage and its been long rumoured that Perez, in his first stint as club president, felt Del Bosque didn't fit the club's glamorous image. Madrid also wouldn't be the first club to sell a player based on a perceived lack of glamour appeal. In 2008 then Manchester City executive chairman Gary Cook said: 'China and India are gagging for football content to watch and we’re going to tell them that City is their content. We need a superstar to get through that door. Richard Dunne doesn’t roll off the tongue in Beijing'. A year later the Irish defender was sold. Di Maria signed for United last summer for a British record fee of £57.9 million and it's his recent ugly performances that have concerned to the club's fans, rather than his physical appearance. Hat-tip The Independent.