Laurent Blanc: 'We need Angel di Maria for Champions League glory'

Laurent Blanc has claimed that the arrival of Angel di Maria is essential for Paris Saint-Germain's challenge for the Champions League.

The Argentine winger joined Les Parisiens for a reported £44m on Thursday after the 27-year-old failed to justify his £59.7m fee during a year-long stint at Manchester United.

Despite dominating France, where they clinched a domestic treble last term, Blanc's side have struggled on the European stage and are yet to progress beyond the last-eight phase.

"I am a lucky coach because I already have very good players and now we have Di Maria. We really wanted Angel and now he's here, though it was a complicated deal which required patience," he told beIN Sports.

"He wanted to join us and I'm glad to see this club can recruit players of his quality. I hope he will bring quality that raises the level of the team; he is needed in European matches."

Di Maria was in attendance to watch the French champions get their Ligue 1 campaign underway with a 1-0 win at Lille, despite playing with 10 men for over an hour on Friday.