Report: Angel Di Maria has no intention of leaving Juventus in January

When the report first surfaced in late-October that Angel Di Maria could end his assumed short tenure at Juventus even earlier, things were not going very well for the veteran attacker. He was battling injuries, he had already served a two-game suspension for his red card against Monza and his form wasn’t exactly much to brag about.

No matter how much validity was behind the report, you could at least connect the dots of logic as to why Di Maria would entertain ending things with Juve in January.

Now that Di Maria has come off winning the World Cup with Argentina and is about to return to Juventus for the resumption of play come January? Thoughts of Di Maria potentially leaving have most certainly not been nearly as prevalent. Or there at all.

According to a Christmas Eve report from Fabrizio Romano, Di Maria has no intentions of leaving Juventus during the upcoming January transfer window and heading back to his boyhood club, Rosario, for the final step in his accomplished career. This comes on the back of a victorious World Cup for the 34-year-old Argentine who will celebrate his birthday in mid-February, essentially giving quite the different kind of vibe as to how things were going heading into the tournament in Qatar.

Di Maria’s post-World Cup status has always been a bit of a question mark seemingly because of the fact that he’s on a one-year contract and one of the biggest reasons why he signed with Juventus was going to be over when the games restarted in January.

Professionalism and character has never been much of an issue for the beloved Di Maria in the past — although some folks at Monza might disagree there — so it’s not like we have seen signs that he’s about to dog it in the second half of the season. But with the way the season was going before Juve’s last stretch of pre-World Cup games, you could understand if a guy who has won so much in his career was a little frustrated with things.

But could a successful run at the World Cup reenergized Di Maria a little bit? It would make sense when it comes to trying to finish the club season on a high note and try to win another trophy or two. (Yes, there’s still the Coppa Italia out there for the taking, folks.)