Argentina legend, Ángel Di María, has revealed that he still relies on medication to cope with the emotional toll of losing three consecutive finals with his national team.
Despite eventually winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2024 Copa América before retiring from international football, Di María endured heartbreak earlier in his career, finishing as a runner-up in the 2014 World Cup and two Copa América finals within three years.
“Because of that I’m still taking the meds,” Di María told Infobae, as reported by ESPN. “I was able to reduce it [dosage]. I’m much better, but that’s something a little addictive, too … These are things that stay with you, that mark you.”
The Benfica winger became a national hero after scoring the decisive goal in Argentina’s 1-0 victory over Brazil in the 2021 Copa América final.
He also found the net in the 2022 World Cup final against France, helping secure the country’s third title.
Reflecting on his journey, Di María expressed sympathy for his former teammates who never got the chance to lift an international trophy.
“Who remembers the boys that reached that World Cup final and didn’t win?” he asked. “Very few, it seems unfair to me. Who is talking about those kids? Nobody. Very few can tell you how they played. I said it a lot of times when we became world champions, when we won the Copa América, I always said that those trophies were also [thanks] to the previous generation.”
At 37, Di María remains active in club football but stepped away from international duty last summer with no regrets.
The former Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain star finished his Argentina career with 31 goals in 145 appearances.
“I was there for 16 years [with the national team] and it is as if I had been in a club,” he reflected. “It’s difficult, but I think I made the right decision. It’s obvious that it tempts me because it’s the national team. I achieved everything I wanted to achieve. I left the way I wanted to leave … I hope one day I can be there again, in a different role.”
