The elimination of Rosario Central from the 2026 Copa Libertadores left a deep mark on Ángel Di María. The Canalla lost 1-0 to Corinthians at the Arena Corinthians and was knocked out in the round of 16, a result that led the Argentine forward to question his continuity in professional football.
After the match, Di María spoke visibly affected and acknowledged that the result changed his plans. “Tough moment, tough moment because my dream was different, my desires were different, to be able to continue, but it’s football. Now I have to think and see what I want to keep doing,” he expressed.
The statement raised questions about the future of the world champion, who had recently renewed his contract with Rosario Central and planned to remain linked to the club of his dreams.
Di María analyzed Rosario Central's defeat
The player also explained his view on the match against Corinthians and regretted the opportunities the team could not capitalize on.
“We had chances to score, it wasn’t the match we wanted to play. It was really hard for us, and we couldn’t convert the chances we had,” he pointed out.
Di María also considered that Rosario Central had opportunities to gain a more significant advantage in the first leg of the series. “In the first leg we could have made a difference but that’s football. Now they managed to score against us with one less player, sometimes it doesn’t go your way, and today it didn’t happen for us,” he added.
The Rosario team could not take advantage of the numerical superiority they had for a good part of the match and ended up suffering the goal that determined their elimination from the top continental tournament.
The future of Ángel Di María at Rosario Central
The situation generates special anticipation because Di María had extended his contract with Rosario Central last June. The forward returned to the club in 2025, after an extensive 18-year career in European football, thus fulfilling one of his great career wishes.
The new contract states that he will remain at the institution until June 2027, when he will be 39 years old. However, his statements after the Libertadores elimination introduced an uncertainty that did not exist until now.
