After much speculation, it was confirmed last week that David De Gea would be leaving Manchester United after his contract expired at the end of June.
Due to De Gea’s wedding, contract negotiations were stalled but the general feeling was that the Spanish international would make way for someone more comfortable with Ten Hag’s style of play.
In his time between the sticks, he made 545 appearances for the Reds, winning the FA Cup, Europa League, and League Cup. He was also a part of the last United side to win the Premier League back in 2013. And now his 12-year stay in Manchester comes to an end.
De Gea took to social media to express his feelings regarding his departure. “I would like to express my unwavering gratitude and appreciation for the love from the last 12 years. We’ve achieved a lot since my dear Sir Alex Ferguson brought me to this club.”
He was one of United’s highest earners, but a deal was not reached to retain De Gea, even on a reduced wage. At first, it looked as though the 32-year-old would stay at Old Trafford but the framework for a contract extension broke down.
This past season was a mixed bag for De Gea. On the one hand, he finished the campaign as the Golden Glove winner, racking up 17 clean sheets in the League. However, there were some significant errors along the way, some notably towards the end of the season. Away to West Ham, away to Sevilla and the FA Cup Final all spring to mind.
Perhaps this is why United are now chasing Andre Onana. Who at the time of writing is reportedly close to agreeing on a deal to join up with Erik Ten Hag once again. But considering United have already announced De Gea’s departure they must be confident.
Inter are also ready to submit a €6 million offer to Bayern Munich for goalkeeper Yann Sommer. This also suggests United are on the verge of completing the deal for Onana.
But for De Gea, he is now officially a free agent and not much has been said about where his next move will be. The most likely option would be a move back to Spain or to Saudi Arabia.
And it might not have been the storybook ending for De Gea, but let’s not forget he has arguably been the best goalkeeper in the Premier League for the 2010s. Making it into the PFA Team of the Year five times.
At times he defied all logic with his shot-stopping and was often unbeatable. One of his most memorable displays was a 3-1 win away to Arsenal in 2019, making 14 saves, the joint-most at the time.
And had it not been for a faulty fax machine he could have left United for Real Madrid in 2015.
Even though I think it’s the correct decision to move on from David De Gea, it’s still sad to see a legend leave the club. Regardless of your opinion, he has served the club tremendously and deserves to be seen as one of the greatest goalkeepers Manchester United has ever had.
Hopefully, if Onana does sign for United it can be transformative, similar to Ederson when he first joined Manchester City. However, he will have some big gloves to fill in the absence of De Gea.
Finally, I would just like to wish a full recovery to Edwin van der Sar who is currently in intensive care with a bleed on the brain. The 52-year-old made 226 appearances for Manchester United. Another legend of the club whom we all hope will pull through.
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