It Will Be Sad to See David De Gea Leave United but Departure Always Inevitable
David De Gea has come a long way since Mick Dennis of the Express advised everyone to not bother learning his name.
Whether as a result of the pillorying he took from the press or by fulfilling the potential he demonstrated at Atletico Madrid, there has always been a niggling feeling among Manchester United supporters that De Gea’s not long for the club.
Since Dennis’ aforementioned article was published in August 2011, the day after De Gea’s first Premier League game, the Spaniard has become one of the three goalkeepers—alongside Manuel Neuer and Thibaut Courtois—regularly described as the best in the world. With that, however, comes the inevitable interest from Real Madrid.
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The reigning European champions have yet to publicly declare they want the player, but AS recently reported that “Operation De Gea” is now underway at the Bernabeu. The newspaper claims that he will join the club sooner or later, either for a potential world-record fee for a ‘keeper in the summer or on a free transfer upon the expiration of his current contract with United in 2016.
There are football fans out there who believe players owe them something in return for their adoration. In some cases, such as when Rio Ferdinand repaid United fans’ support during an eight-month ban by refusing to sign a new deal and flirting with nouveau riche Chelsea, they might have a point.
For the most part, however, players don’t receive the crowd’s adulation unless they have earned it on the pitch.
Though he immediately had the backing of the Old Trafford faithful, perhaps driven by an us-against-the-world mentality in the face of the barbarous criticism he received, De Gea’s popularity among supporters would not be as strong as it is were it not for his ability.
That’s not to say there weren’t calamitous moments in that first season; some might argue that his errors were ultimately as much to blame for United losing out on the title to Manchester City in 2012 as the 4-4 with Everton or the overcautious tactics at Eastlands in the third-to-last game of the season. However, to believe that would be to overlook the points he was regularly saving the side before it became the norm.
Dropped after making a mistake in the 3-2 defeat to relegation-bound Blackburn Rovers on New Year’s Eve 2011, which featured the infamous Park Ji-Sung-Rafael central-midfield experiment, he didn’t line up in the league again until a trip to Stamford Bridge on February 5—a game that featured the defining moment of his United career, when he somehow managed to extend his arm and palm away a Juan Mata free-kick in the final throes.
That save galvanised De Gea and seemingly earned him the complete trust of United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. He started every game thereafter, with his performance in the return game against Blackburn leading to an almost wholesale change of opinion on the player.
A mistake a few games into the next season led to Ferguson dropping him, but he once again recovered and was ultimately named as the league’s best goalkeeper as Manchester United were crowned England’s best team for the 20th time.
Shortly before he solidified his status as first choice with an excellent performance in the 3-2 victory over Manchester City on December 9, however, the Daily Mail’s Ian Ladyman reported De Gea was unsettled and, ominously, that Real saw him as the long-term successor to Iker Casillas.
Real Madrid reportedly being interested in De Gea at a time when Anders Lindegaard was keeping him out of the team doesn’t bode well for United, particularly when you take into account that De Gea has been seen as the heir to Casillas’ national team throne since his early days at Atletico.
Given he’s this season staked a claim to be Premier League Player of the Year, it’s only natural that Real would want him to assume San Iker’s mantle at the Bernabeu too.
Casillas has been woeful this term, carrying over the form that saw him chastised during the World Cup. This, together with De Gea’s excellence, means the Real Madrid captain’s prescient words to The Sun (h/t FourFourTwo) that the United ‘keeper will “pension [him] off” may come to fruition sooner than he might’ve liked.
Even if DDG does agree a new deal with Manchester United, AS claims such a move would not be worth the paper it was written on and merely guarantee United receive some recompense for nurturing the player.
However, the €30 million release clause he reportedly wants inserted wouldn’t provide much return on investment. After all, that figure is around £21.7 million at present, and according to the Bank of England, the £18 million or so United paid for De Gea in 2011 is worth in the region of £19.5 million today.
Not that the financial aspect of the deal should bother United. And as good as he has been and is, with Victor Valdes waiting in the wings, his departure doesn’t figure to be as detrimental to the team as it would have been at the start of the season.
No, De Gea’s leaving could serve to reinforce a belief that, no matter how many official partners or hundreds of millions of fans they have across the globe, Manchester United will never have the prestige of Real Madrid.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer set the precedent. In his final seasons with the club, Ronaldo became one of highest-paid players in Manchester United history, won almost every available trophy and enjoyed the kind of reverence that not even 300 goals in 288 games for Real seems to have given him. However, United aren’t Real Madrid, and that being the case, they couldn’t feed Ronaldo’s ego.
De Gea doesn’t come across as someone who constantly needs their ego fed. After his match-winning performance against Everton earlier in the season, he seemed flattered that his name was being sung—his chant, to Crowded House’s “Weather with You,” perhaps being the most frequent at United games this term—and was quick to praise his team-mates, speaking to MUTV (h/t the club’s official website).
This bashfulness couldn’t be more different to Ronaldo—and is just another reason for his popularity—but these contrasting personalities probably have similar reservations about Manchester.
De Gea’s partner, Edurne Garcia, caused something of a stir when she said that Manchester isn’t “very pretty” during a TV interview in Spain, reported by the Manchester Evening News. Amid the furore, her defensible opinion that “you have to hunt for the good spots” was ignored.
The remark was almost a paraphrase of historian AJP Taylor’s famous quote that the city has “everything but good looks.”
Manchester is a wonderful city, and Mancunians are rightly proud of their heritage. It is one of the most culturally diverse places in the country, and its denizens have, to quote Eric Cantona, an “insane love of football, celebration and music.” It also has art galleries, as Mata will attest.
However, its geographical location increases the chances of grey, rainy days—grey, rainy days that probably seem much worse when you’re visiting a loved one and mean you have to stay indoors. And the 42nd Street nightclub hardly seems like the place to take your pop-star girlfriend.
After years of parsimony, United’s owners are finally allowing the club to spend some of its own money. With the pound so strong against the euro at present, United should easily be able to trump whatever Real would offer De Gea financially, but the ‘keeper doesn’t come across as someone who’s motivated by money. Therefore, can United offer him what he truly desires?
It would be wonderful if De Gea stayed, but Real Madrid always seem to get their man. And if their man happens to be a Madrid lad whose partner, family and friends all live in the city, everywhere they go, chances are Real Madrid will be taking De Gea with them.
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