PARIS, July 6 — Argentina’s Angel Di Maria has joined Benfica for a second spell after quitting Juventus, the Portuguese giants announced yesterday.

The 35-year-old World Cup winner left Juve as a free agent last month amid claims he could be targeted by a club in Saudi Arabia.

But Di Maria, who spent seven years at Paris Saint-Germain before his solitary season at Juve, bucked that trend by signing for Benfica.

"Angel Di Maria has signed a contract with Sport Lisboa e Benfica and is a new addition to the team led by Roger Schmidt,” Benfica said in a statement, without giving further details.

Di Maria was previously with the Lisbon club between 2007-10, before spending five seasons at Real Madrid and one at Manchester United ahead of his stay in Paris. — AFP