Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea has insisted that it is a dream to be a Manchester United player, despite being linked with a move to Real Madrid year after year.
De Gea joined United as a 20-year-old back in 2011 and was tasked with replacing Edwin van der Saar, one of the clubs greatest ever keepers. The Spaniard endured a difficult start to life at Old Trafford, but that is all well in the past, with the no.1 now widely considered to be one of the best goalkeeper’s in the world.
De Gea’s status as one of the best in the world inevitably brought rumours, and the Spanish international looked certain to be heading back to his home town Madrid – this time with Real Madrid. In 2015, a deal was all but done with Real for the goalkeeper to head back to the Spanish capital, but complications on deadline day amazingly halted the move, meaning he would stay at United.
The goalkeeper very quickly signed a new deal at Old Trafford soon after that ordeal, and is contracted to the club until 2019. However, this does not stop persistent rumours of a switch to Real Madrid continuing.
But the goalkeeper might just have put fans’ mind at ease, at least for this coming season. When asked about the praise he has received for his performances at United, De Gea told MUTV: “Of course, you feel really proud when people think this about you.”
“It’s really good, but I like to keep my focus, keep working hard and doing my best. To be fair, when you are really young, you don’t think about the future too much, you just want to play with your friends.”
“When you get older, you start to dream about being there, about being at a top team, so of course it’s a dream to be at a team like Manchester United.”
De Gea also discussed how he got into football and, when asked when he knew he was going to be a top goalkeeper, he added: “It’s difficult. I don’t know. I never thought that when I was young.”
“Maybe when I was 15 or 16 years old, I started feeling better, thinking that I could play at a high level. At the same time, I was also playing tennis and things like that, but I was always better at football. I played some basketball too, but football is what I love.”