Di Maria
Barcelona reportedly want to sign Di Maria  Getty

Angel Di Maria's transfer soap opera now has a new exciting twist after reports in Spain claimed Barcelona recently had a €60m (£48m) bid rejected from big rivals Real Madrid for the Argentinian international.

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti confirmed on Thursday that the 26-year-old star had rejected the club's offer of a new contract and was desperately looking to leave the Santiago Bernabeu before the transfer window closes.

"Di Maria asked us to leave in the summer and refused an offer to renew his contract," Ancelotti said during a press conference ahead of the Spanish Super Cup secong-leg game against Atletico Madrid.

"He is seeking a solution but if when the (transfer) market finishes he is still here, he will work with us as he did last year. There is no problem on it".

Manchester United and Paris Saint Germain were said to be monitoring the situation while Spanish newspaper Sport claim Barcelona recently approached Real Madrid regarding a summer move.

Sport claims Barcelona have tried to take advantage of Di Maria's deteriorating relationship with Real Madrid officials to 'steal' one of their biggest assets with the €60m offer.

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However, the Catalan newspaper claims Real Madrid officials instantly rejected Barcelona's approach and declined to negotiate a deal with one of their biggest rivals.

Meanwhile Sport also hints that Barcelona already knew Real Madrid would reject their approach but still went ahead with the approach in order to destabilise the club.

Having recently been hit by Fifa's with transfer ban which takes effect from January 2015 prohibiting the signing of any new players next summer, Barcelona are considering going on a 'spending spree' before the end of the current transfer window in order to bolster their squad, not just for this season but for the next one.

But it looks unlikely they will be able to sign Di Maria and United remain in pole position alongside PSG to secure his services.