“I am saddened to see how United has recently said goodbye to players who have left a significant mark on the club’s history,” celebrated Red Devils defender Rio Ferdinand sighed in an interview with YouTube channel FIVE in June. – You can argue how good David de Gea’s game is now, but we must not forget that he played for Manchester United for 12 seasons. And mostly showed the highest level. David always behaved like a true professional and never brought the club into disrepute. And he definitely did not deserve such a farewell.”
United management acted dishonestly. He promised to extend the deal if the goalkeeper reduced his salary (he earned £375k a week), he agreed, and when it came time to sign a new contract, he completely rejected the Spaniard’s services. A terrible slap in the face for the goalkeeper, who stood firm until the last game with United and deservedly won the Premier League Golden Glove in May; In the 2022/2023 season, De Gea kept 16 clean sheets.
This is how it went:
Manchester United bosses treated De Gea like a pig
On July 1, De Gea became a free agent, but after two months he could not find work anywhere. Let’s find out why at 32, the prime age for most goalkeepers, David is close to retiring from his career.
De Gea with the award for best goalkeeper of the 2022/2023 Premier League season
Photo: Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images
De Gea’s fate was largely decided by the 2023 Champions League final
Shortly before the end of the transfer window, the reason for United’s harsh attitude towards David became clear: the Red Devils really wanted to see Inter goalkeeper André Onan at Old Trafford. The Cameroonian worked at Ajax with the current Manchester United coach, ten Hag, and was eager to renew their collaboration. The basis for this desire was the African’s excellent kicking game, largely thanks to Inter calmly “blocking” Manchester City’s high pressing in the 2022/2023 Champions League final. Thanks to that match, Onana added several million euros to his transfer value and sealed De Gea’s fate.
United fans were delighted: finally, not only Manchester City would have a goalkeeper capable of initiating attacks. However, after only a month and a half, fans were overwhelmed by disappointment: André’s role in the development of the “Devils” attacks is still not so great, and in the “frame” he commits no less. mistakes that De Gea has made in recent times. seasons.
The Cameroonian got the stardust already in the first match: in a friendly match against French team Lens, André failed from the center of the field. In the first matches of the Premier League, the new goalkeeper did not show anything remarkable, and on matchday 1 of the Champions League he missed a curious goal against Bayern. David on the “tape” was definitely more trustworthy.
The African’s expectations were enormous:
Manchester United have finally signed a goalkeeper! Onana will take the club to the next level
United look like the United of the last decade: players come and go, but nothing changes. Only with the goalkeeper position after the end of the Sir Alex Ferguson era was there relative clarity and stability, but the reluctance to renew the agreement with De Gea could lead to a new crisis, the same as now in the flank team. players. Manchester United have always been famous for their wingers, but in the last 20 years not a single player of the caliber of Ryan Giggs, Andrei Kanchelskis, Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham has appeared at Old Trafford. And the “devils” spent up to £372 million buying players for this role.
Now is the time to remember how long Manchester United spent searching for a suitable goalkeeper following the departure of Peter Schmeichel. 12 full years! Ferguson suffered enormously from the “imports” of Massimo Taibi, Fabien Barthez, Roy Carroll, Ricardo and Tim Howard, which could have been a lesson for the current management of Manchester United, but today Old Trafford is not governed by logic, but solely for money and hype.
David will only turn 33 in November, but Real Madrid and Bayern rejected him.
In 2015, Manchester United were trolled because the Devils could not process De Gea’s transfer to Real Madrid due to a broken club fax and an overdue deadline: the documents arrived from the Spanish capital to Old Trafford with a delay of several minutes. Although this story is a myth. This summer, David had two full months to find a job at another club and restart his career. Furthermore, by the goalkeeper’s standards, the Spaniard now only needs to reach his peak: on November 7 he will turn 33 years old. However, it was not possible to find a new job. The other day, the goalkeeper published a video with an individual training session and the caption: “Hard work.”
Nobody doubts the effectiveness and professionalism of the goalkeeper, but his thoughts are not entirely occupied with football right now. Proof of this is his wedding on July 1 (the first day as a free agent) with the singer and actress Edurne García, five years older than his lover. The couple has been together since 2010 and is raising a two-year-old daughter, but they have only now legalized their relationship. The decision to always put family first is commendable, but was it appropriate to relax when his career is at stake?
Spanish footballers have a special weakness for singers
Photo: from the personal archive of David de Gea.
David had many employment options and the most realistic seemed to be a move to Inter Milan. Such a peculiar castling of goalkeepers, but the Italians could not match the financial appetite of the goalkeeper: the Spaniard wanted to receive at least 10 million “net” euros a year in the new club. Things didn’t work out with Real Madrid either: De Gea seemed a good option as a replacement for the seriously injured Thibaut Courtois, but Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti ruled out the transfer.
Another worthy option could be Bayern, but in Munich they expect a quick return to action after Manuel Neuer’s serious injury, and another factor is, again, the goalkeeper’s high salary demands. Al-Nasr, in which Cristiano Ronaldo plays, agreed to make David rich, but the footballer refused out of a desire to be closer to his family: Edurna (in 2015 she represented Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest and took 21st place) At the end of her singing career, she took a break and is now busy with several television projects.
The goalkeeper spent 12 seasons at Old Trafford, but had a bad farewell
Photo: Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images
De Gea had almost irreplaceable status at Old Trafford for 12 seasons, and for several years he ranked first in the world in terms of salary among players in his role, so he considers it quite reasonable to choose only the best options. For him money is important, but his role in the new team is no less important: the goalkeeper is only prepared for the number one status. For this reason, his negotiations with Betis were not successful, so we can say with confidence that before January it is unlikely that De Gea will find a club that meets his level of demands.
De Gea is building a business empire focused on the real estate sector
David has never liked to have more attention paid to himself; He rarely gives interviews and avoids social life. Therefore, one can only guess how motivated the Spaniard is to continue his sporting career, since in recent years his interests have focused not only on football. One of the highest-paid players of the last decade earned enough to start a career as a successful businessman. In 2021, The Sunday Times listed De Gea among the richest people under 40 in the United Kingdom: the goalkeeper was ranked 16th with a net worth of €52.4 million.
David has done very well in the real estate sector. In Madrid alone, the footballer has three offices of his company, David De Gea’s HousinGo, which deals with the purchase and sale of real estate in the most respectable area of Madrid, Salamanca, in addition to advising investors. Last year David opened agency branches in Seville and Bilbao. Another priority area for businessman De Gea is development. His company, Yeday Sports, builds, remodels and restores homes in Madrid.
Another Spaniard with a brilliant business project:
He owns two clubs, raises money from the Saudis and develops esports. Piqué’s business empire
This is far from the footballer’s only business. In 2010 he founded the law firm Alter Parens SL in one of the provinces of Madrid, Majadahonda. This organization represents the rights of players and provides them with advice and employment. De Gea’s lawyers work primarily with young, promising players, and the firm is run by David’s mother, Maria Victoria. In addition, Mrs. de Gea, the footballer’s father, José de Gea Camara, and his sister Beatriz appear as directors of the company Bedamarse Limited, owner of the player’s image rights; The goalkeeper earns around £3 million a year from it.
The former goalkeeper of the Spanish national team develops eSports
Photo: from the personal archive of David de Gea.
According to the British Business Register, Bedamarse Limited’s assets currently exceed £19 million. The company’s headquarters are located on the outskirts of Manchester, south of the River Mersey, an area where luxury homes abound. Here she also bought a mansion for £4 million in 2014. Gea’s family’s favorite vacation spot when she lived in England was the Italian family restaurant Cibo Hale. He was also very loved by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Two years ago, David entered the esports industry by founding the team Rebels Gaming, which competes in League of Legends. The footballer also built his own e-sports training center in Valdebebas, located not far from the Real Madrid base. “The launch of Rebels Gaming within the framework of eSports is another dream that has come true. “This is a project whose objective is to instill in new generations of young people the fundamental values that have accompanied me since I started playing professional football: motivation, leadership, resilience and teamwork,” he admitted, more of an investor than a footballer.
So far everything indicates that David is fed up with football: now he is ready to play not only for a lot of money, but also for the Club that will be based in Spain. Seamlessly manage and expand his rapidly growing empire, like former Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué. By the way, Gerard began making his first investments when he was still a Manchester United player.
