Pedro, Benzema, De Gea - Could Di Maria to PSG spark a Europe-wide transfer frenzy?

Angel Di Maria does not do calm and patient. Much of the first three years of his life were spent running around the house breaking things and, on one occasion, falling into a well. Still a toddler, he was taken to a doctor by his exasperated mother.

"Sign him up for a sport" was the professional verdict and, even at such an early age, he was on his way to the top - at his own speed.

This 100mph, haphazard approach to his first few years on this earth will come as no surprise to anybody that saw him play for Manchester United last season. A substitute appearance at Anfield in March serves as a microcosm: introduced 10 minutes into the second half to take advantage of Steven Gerrard's red card, Di Maria hared around the pitch like a loose dog at the local park.

Every single thing that he tried was designed to kill off Liverpool as soon as humanly possible, if not sooner; first-time through-balls, breakneck dribbles and even catching the ball in both arms before it had gone out of play.

The canine analogy is harsh; he set up Juan Mata with a delightful chip and created the penalty incident with a clever pass to Daley Blind. It's just that everything else was a bit crazy.

It is why he is off to Paris Saint-Germain. He simply did not fit in with Louis van Gaal's calm, collected vision for the sport. "He loves possession and he doesn't like being at risk of losing the ball," Ander Herrera said of the Dutchman's outlook just one day after that game at Anfield. "He wants long stretches of possession and keeping the ball."

In two sentences, the Basque midfielder unwittingly explained why his team-mate's spell at Old Trafford did not work.