Speaking at his press conference ahead of Real Madrid’s second leg of the Spanish Supercup, Carlo Ancelotti confessed to reporters that Angel Di Maria had requested to leave the La Liga club earlier this summer.

It is widely known that the Madrid boss values the Argentina international and would like to keep him in the Spanish capital. But mounting reports emanating from Spain had been speculating that Di Maria requested a move, while also indicating that Real Madrid president Florentino Perez wants the winger to be sold so he can finance a move for AS Monaco striker Radamel Falcao.

But today’s statement from Ancelotti is the first time a Real Madrid official has come clean about the situation involving the Argentina international.

“Di Maria put in a transfer request in the summer and turned down an offer to renew his contract. The club has been trying to find a solution for him. If he is still here when the transfer window closes, he will continue to work with us like he did last season, without any problem,” Ancelotti stated.

Yesterday, it was reported that teammates Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos met with Real Madrid’s president to beg him not to sell Di Maria. The team and the manager do not want the player to leave.

But unless the club can give him a larger contract and a guaranteed role in the squad, something that Florentino Perez and Ancelotti are not willing to offer, it looks like the 26-year-old’s days are number at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Di Maria had been heavily linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain earlier this summer. But a mutual agreement couldn’t be hashed out by the two clubs, which led to PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi declaring that Di Maria was “too expensive” and the French club had “stopped the discussions.”

Although many experts believe that PSG and Real Madrid will once again strike up talks, as of right now there is no news of any renewed discussions regarding Di Maria.

The word from Di Maria’s camp is that the player desired a move to France. But because of the PSG’s Financial Fair Play restrictions, a move would be extremely difficult for the club to negotiate. Real Madrid would need to come down from their asking price and allow the player to leave on loan for the first season.

Meanwhile, Manchester United have been keeping an eye on Di Maria’s situation. The twenty-time champions of England have been linked with the Argentina international for most of the summer and have recently stepped up their pursuit of the player according to reports.

Speculation is the Premier League club had even lined up a financial package worth £100 million for Di Maria (transfer fee and wages combined). But as of today, no official bid has been submitted for the player.

Further reports suggested that part of the reason Manchester United turned to Sporting Lisbon defender Marcos Rojo in recent weeks (aside from the fact that he was name to the FIFA World Cup All Star team) was to appease Di Maria. The two Argentina internationals are rumored to be close friends.

Regardless, following today’s admission from Ancelotti, it is likely that more teams will begin to line up for the player’s services.

With ten days left in the summer window, expect to hear more news about Angel Di Maria and his possible future destination.