Over the weekend it was announced that Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain were close to reaching an agreement on midfielder Angel Di Maria. The move has not been made official, but it seems more and more likely that Di Maria is not going to be playing in Spain's capital in 2014-15.

Wherever he winds up, Di Maria is going to provide his new club with a huge boost creatively. He can play in the middle of the park, but originally played on the flanks for Los Blancos and excelled there until Gareth Bale's arrival forced him to adjust his play.

For Madrid, Di Maria will be an unfortunate loss. The player was arguably the team's top player for long stretches of the season and was the big star of the Champions League final that clinched La Decima for the club. Few can forget how he undressed Atletico Madrid defender Juanfran on his way to setting up Gareth Bale's game-winner.

Di Maria finished the 2013-14 season with four goals and 17 assists in 34 Spanish League tilts and three goals and five assists in 11 Champions League matches; Di Maria was assist leader for the club. But losses for the club go beyond those numbers.

Di Maria was at the center of transfer rumors last summer but was kept in favor of Mesut Ozil. However, his playtime diminished with the introduction of Gareth Bale on the right wing. Di Maria, a natural winger, seemingly had no place in the side. That is until manager Carlo Ancelotti decided that he could find a place for Di Maria in a 4-3-3 setup. Di Maria thus slotted into the middle three and formed a perfect trio withXabi Alonso and Luka Modric. Alonso provided stability at the back of the midfield, as well as some long range passing. Modric became the crux of the team's passing game while Di Maria was allowed to roam forward and use his space and tremendous dribbling to facilitate the likes of Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo.

It must be emphasized that Di Maria and Ronaldo made a tremendous duo throughout the season, something might be as easy as it looks. Playing with Ronaldo means being willing to cater to him for long stretches of games. That Di Maria could do it without any issues speaks volumes of his selflessness on the pitch. That he could shine while doing it, as he invariably did throughout the year, only furthers the argument that he is an elite star.

But the summer additions of Toni Kroos, and especially James Rodriguez, have essentially pushed Di Maria out. Kroos is a different player than Di Maria and is more of a proficient passer; both of them could have found some way to work together, even if it meant sacrificing Modric or Alonso. But the purchase of Rodriguez was the nail in Di Maria's coffin. Both players are a similar brand of attacker. Di Maria is more of a playmaker than Rodriguez, but the two are capable of scoring and possess a terrific ability to dribble past opponents. Rodriguez is younger and could potentially have a higher ceiling than Di Maria, but there are still a plethora of questions surrounding the Colombian. Will he hit the ceiling expected? And when he does, will he really be that much better than Di Maria? Will Rodriguez be able to adjust to a deeper midfield position that way Di Maria did? And if he does not, then how will he fit into Madrid's play? And most important of all: will Rodriguez be able to play with Ronaldo and Bale?

Those, unfortunately, become pressing issues that Di Maria's departure leaves. This is obviously far from his fault as any player who sees his playtime diminished will undoubtedly look for a place that will allow him first-team playtime.

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