Marcelo "very sad" Angel di Maria has joined Manchester United

Real Madrid left-back Marcelo has expressed his sadness that Angel di Maria has left the club.

The Argentine winger joined Manchester United yesterday for a British record fee of £59.7m, but his former teammate has said that he is "very sad" to see di Maria leave the Spanish capital.

"It was very sad because he is not only a footballer to me but also a friend," Marcelo told ESPN.

"I can say that he is like a brother to me. I am very sad but football is like that."

Despite the departure of Di Maria, Marcelo believes that Madrid's new signings will improve the European champions.

"The new teammates that have arrived are very good. Not only as footballers, but also as people. They are willing to learn new things and also accept the challenges we face here."

Di Maria topped the assists chart in La Liga last season, laying on 17 goals for his Real Madrid teammates across the course of the season.