Angel Di Maria has said he is happy to be back on good terms with the Santiago Bernabeu crowd after a rocky few months.
Di Maria was accused of making a lewd gesture towards the Real Madrid fans when he was substituted in January, although the Argentina international was cleared of any offence by the club.
The turnaround in the player’s relationship with the supporters was seen when he was given a standing ovation upon leaving the field in the 3-0 Copa del Rey win over Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
Di Maria scored the game’s third goal before he was replaced for the final nine minutes of the match by Asier Illarramendi.
“I am very happy for the ovation,” Di Maria told reporters.
“I show the people that I’ll give everything for this shirt and will do so until the end.”
Asked about the match itself, Di Maria explained that matching Atletico’s intensity was key.
“We tightened up and played at 100%. We knew they played intensely and we had to do the same thing.
“But there will still be a game when we go there.”
Di Maria was also asked for his thoughts on Cristiano Ronaldo’s three-game suspension and said that while he didn’t want to get involved in the matter, he feels his teammate was hard done by.
“I don’t want to speak about the Committee’s decisions, but I know Cristiano caused and did nothing.”