Real Madrid has signed Argentina midfielder Angel di Maria from Benfica on a six-year contract, the Spanish club said on its website Monday. The 22-year-old, who has helped Argentina reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup in South Africa, is the first signing the club has made since Jose Mourinho replaced Manuel Pellegrini as coach last month. The club did not release any figures but Spanish media reported the deal was worth around 25 million euros ($30.85 million). Di Maria is one of the biggest recent finds in Argentine soccer, having helped the under-20s win the 2007 World Youth Cup in Canada and also a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. He joined Benfica from Rosario in 2007 and helped it win a league and cup double last season, when he was voted the competition's player of the year. A pacy winger, who scores goals and lays them on for fellow attackers, he usually plays on the left flank but can also operate down the right and through the middle. Henry and Toure leaving Barcelona has agreed to sell France striker Thierry Henry and Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure, the Spanish champions said Monday. Henry, who returned from the World Cup last week after France's surprise early exit, agreed a move before heading out to South Africa following a season when he has spent most of the time on the bench. “Now it is up to him to complete it,” Barca director Joan Oliver said on the club website after the last board meeting under outgoing president Joan Laporta. “This will allow Barca to save money on his wages in the next financial year.” Henry, 32, was reputedly one of the highest paid players in Pep Guardiola's squad and had one year left on his contract. He has been linked with a move to the New York Red Bulls in the United States. Barcelona has also been negotiating with Manchester City over the future of Toure who, like Henry, had requested a transfer. Toure, 27, lost out to Spain midfielder Sergio Busquets in the battle for places in Barca's midfield last season and has been seeking a move to gain more regular first-team football. Ivory Coast was knocked out of the World Cup in the group stage.
