Ángel di María has written a letter bidding farewell to the Real Madrid faithful after four years in the ranks of the 'Los Blancos' club. The Argentine, who, having fetched a record-breaking transfer fee, is now a Manchester United player, explains the reasons for his departure and thanks the fans for the affection they have shown him. In a MARCA exclusive, here are Di María's reflections on his time in white:

An open Letter from Angel di María to all the Real Madrid fans,

My time at Real Madrid has come to an end. It's impossible, in just a few lines, to put all I have gained here, but this letter is my way of explaining how I'm feeling now that I'm bidding the club farewell. Over the four years I have had the honour of wearing this shirt, I have felt nothing but pride about everything that has happened and all I have achieved together with my teammates.

Sadly, now I have to go, but I want to make it clear that this was never my wish. I've always wanted to progress, as anyone else does in their job. I went to the World Cup after winning the 'Decima' with the hope of getting some signal from the Club Management, but it never came. Many things were said and many lies circulated. They always wanted to pin the idea of leaving the club on me, but that's not how it was. Unfortunately, my football isn't to someone's taste. The only thing I asked for was a fair deal. There are many things that I value and a lot of them have nothing to do with my salary. I hope to find them at Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in the world, with which I'm hoping to make history.

I've been lucky enough to share a dressing room with some fantastic players, who have been even better teammates. I think that was the key to winning the Tenth Champions League. I want to apologise for the times I made mistakes, on or off the field. It was never my intention to do wrong by anyone. I sweated for this shirt every game as if it were the last. There were times when things went well, and times when they didn't, but what I can say is that I always gave it everything.

I want to thank Spain for everything it's given me and especially for being the country where my daughter was born. And I would like to send a very special thank you to the people at the Montepríncipe hospital, who will always be in my heart. My wife, daughter and I will be forever grateful. Also to my teammates, who always supported me, in good times and bad, to the various coaching teams I've worked with and also to all the people who work at the club on a daily basis, who I have a great relationship with.

I hope that Real Madrid have a great season and achieve the ambitions the club is always keen to push for. That moment at the Bernabéu in the 'Supercopa' when I came onto the pitch and was greeted with such great affection from the crowd will stay with me forever. Thank you so much. It still gives me goosebumps. I could not think of a better farewell for what turned out to, unfortunately, be my last game.

Hala Madrid! Always and forever!

Angel Di Maria