The Spaniard has been out of the game for more than a year, but seems to think he should still be able to demand megabucks
David de Gea has given no interviews since leaving Manchester United, even though he must have plenty to say. His media blackout is reportedly out of respect for the club where he spent 12 years, though the goalkeeper has continued to use social media during his hiatus from the game, and he has been indulging his habit of making cryptic posts.
The Spaniard dropped a yawning emoji last year when rumours about him leaving United began to circle. A couple of days before he confirmed his departure from the Red Devils, he had posted a juggling emoji, hinting he was weighing up his options.
He dropped his latest teasing message earlier this month, posting an hour glass emoji. Users instantly presumed this was a sign he was about to announce his next move. And sure enough, a week later reports emerged that he was in discussions with Genoa.
The Serie A club’s fans quickly flocked to his Instagram post and urged him to complete a move to their club. But just a day later, it emerged that Genoa were looking at alternative targets as De Gea’s wage demands were too high. The episode begged the obvious question: does De Gea really want to return to football, or is he only interested in money?
Getty ImagesUgly exit
De Gea has lived a curious life since his unsavoury departure from United last July. The Spaniard thought he would be staying with the club despite coming to the end of his contract and was expecting to sign an extension.
However, that offer was withdrawn by the Red Devils at the last minute and replaced by an alternative, lower offer, at the same time that United were trying to sign Andre Onana.
It was a cruel way to treat a loyal club servant like De Gea and, faced with the prospect of getting a worse deal to be a back-up goalkeeper, no one could blame the Spaniard for saying thanks but no thanks.
It was with some sadness that he called an end to his long spell at Old Trafford, where had become the club’s longest-serving goalkeeper and the man to have kept the most clean sheets in their history.
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It has been hard to make sense of what has happened since. De Gea naturally received offers to continue his career immediately after leaving United, but for some reason he preferred to take a breather from the game, deciding that none of the opportunities on the table tickled his fancy.
The transfer window thus closed and he was left without a club. According to , he was so upset with how he had been treated by United manager Erik ten Hag and then-sporting director John Murtough that he considered retiring from football altogether.
No announcement came, though, and the only indication of his activities was his Instagram account, where he posted videos of him doing individual training and a picture of a reunion with Bruno Fernandes while visiting Manchester.
That led to some excitement among United fans about the prospect of De Gea making a shock return to the club, although such a move was never on the cards. It was later established that he had been spending time back in England primarily for tax reasons.
Getty Feeling picky
When he was not watching United's women's team or playing padel, De Gea kept himself busy running his E-sports team, Rebel Gaming, and spending time with his wife and daughter back in Spain. As a United player, De Gea had gotten used to making frequent trips back to see his wife, who continued to live in Spain as he had famously said she did not like Manchester.
Who could blame him for enjoying some family time and being away from the goldfish bowl existence of being a Manchester United player? However, according to , about five months into his break, De Gea ‘realised he missed football and started working towards a return’.
The imminent arrival of the January transfer window led to inevitable speculation that he would be looking for another club, and reports emerged that there was interest in him from a number of Saudi Pro League clubs, including Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq.
At the time, GOAL consulted a source who knows De Gea and was told the Spaniard was being “picky” about his next club. So it proved. The transfer window came and went and De Gea was still without a club.
The Spaniard returned to England in the new year and posted more videos of him training, this time at the home of National League side Altrincham, based near where De Gea used to live.
GettyStability or money?
De Gea was believed to have trained there regularly, although one reporter who visited the stadium to try and find out more information was given short shrift by a security guard.
The De Gea mystery continued, with the goalkeeper continuing to be silent about his future plans and little word coming in the media. The fact that the Spaniard has not worked with an agent since cutting ties with Jorge Mendes in 2019 has made it harder for him to find a new club, as his inner circle of trusted friends do not have the network of contacts that agents can count upon.
It has also meant there are fewer genuine stories about his negotiations with clubs. reported last week, just days before news of the interest from Genoa emerged, that De Gea’s priority was ‘a club and a city that guarantees stability for him and his family’, adding that he had received interest from Saudi Arabia, Italy and the United States.
That description was vague, to say the least, and it is tempting to conclude that the word stability could easily have been substituted for ‘well enumerated’.