David De Gea Reportedly Says He Wants Manchester United to Real Madrid Transfer

Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea has reportedly got his heart set on a move to Real Madrid in the near future and has already informed friends of this, according to Spanish journalist Eduardo Inda (via Charles Perrin for the Express). 

The 26-year-old Spaniard almost moved to Real in the summer of 2015 only for the deal to fall through at the last minute, but after a further two years in Manchester he is keen to finally make the switch. However, the supposed deal could still be scuppered by his manager Jose Mourinho.

"Real Madrid are still thinking about a single goalkeeper, who is De Gea, but Mourinho is determined not to [let him] leave United," Inda told Spanish TV show El Chiringuito (h/t Perrin).

De Gea has won United's Player of the Year award in each of the last three seasons, underlining his importance to the side during the club's difficult post-Sir Alex Ferguson years. He remains an invaluable asset to the club, but, should the reports be accurate, keeping hold of their goalkeeper might be difficult. De Gea has been very patient since the infamous fax machine incident in 2015.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

A "broken fax machine" is said to be the reason behind the collapse of the Spaniard's transfer to Real on Aug. 31 2015, per Tom Olver for Metro, which led to De Gea signing a four-year contract less than two weeks later.

Almost two years on, Real are reportedly back in contention to seal the deal. Their interest is helped by De Gea's reported unhappiness at Old Trafford, according to Inda.

"De Gea believes that Manchester is hell because every day is black," Inda said, per Perrin. "The player has privately said that he wants to play for Real Madrid."

However, this contradicts Mourinho's view of the situation. In February the United manager spoke about Real's reported interest and assured fans that De Gea is happy at the club.

"The only thing that is real is that [De Gea] is my player, I am happy with him, I know that he is happy with me," he said, per Luke Edwards for the Telegraph.

Mourinho isn't the only person to have praised De Gea, as Squawka tweeted recently:

"

Ander Herrera on David De Gea: "If he stays here, he will be a club legend like Schmeichel and Van der Sar. I believe he can surpass them." pic.twitter.com/9aDXgnhbH8

— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) February 28, 2017"

Any potential move is merely hypothetical until a formal approach is made for the player. It is easy at this stage for one party to claim De Gea is happy and another to claim he is unhappy. With 12 league games remaining and United still competing in the FA Cup and Europa League, it seems unlikely that De Gea, a consummate professional, will be concerning himself with the latest rumours.