I almost signed Di Maria as a teenager, says Arsene Wenger

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says he wanted to bring Angel Di Maria to the Premier League as he was bursting through the ranks as a teenager in Argentina, only for England's strict work permit rules to scupper any potential move to the Gunners.


Wenger looks set to go before a work permit tribunal in the coming days as he closes in on the possible signing of Brazilian defender Gabriel Paulista from Villarreal, with his transfer window target not complying with the rules that restrict foreign players moving to English clubs.

Non-European players who have not played 75 percent of recent internationals for their country during the two years leading up to a transfer face a tough task to secure a move to English clubs under the current regulations, much to Wenger's chagrin.

"Ideally it would open completely and anyone can come in," argues Wenger, who is also against proposed changes to work permit rules due to be introduced next summer that will see any player costing more than 10 million pounds granted a chance to play for a Premier League club.

"We had identified Di Maria when he was 17. We saw him in an international competition and we wanted him to come here, but he goes to Portugal, and from Portugal he goes to Spain. Why? Because he could not get a work permit, so that means you can only get him to England once he is worth a huge amount of money.

"What does it mean if at the end of the day he comes anyway into the country [at a later date] for a huge amount of money? Who do you pay this huge amount of money to? A club like Real Madrid, they don't need the money. We have to be conscious of that."