Manchester United's Jose Mourinho Confirms David De Gea Contract Rumours

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has confirmed rumours that goalkeeper David De Gea is close to signing a new contract with the club, praising the player and his agent for "respecting the club" and not creating a fuss.

As the Sunday People's Steve Bates reported (h/t the Mirror), De Gea's situation stands in contrast to that of Paul Pogba, and Mourinho went out of his way to salute his star stopper:

"David is a Manchester United player. He will sign a new contract as soon as possible. He likes it here.

"We love him. We want him to stay. He wants to stay.

"I think it was a collective situation involving the player, the agent and Manchester United. The agent didn’t create a war to try to achieve his objectives.

"He respected the club. He respected the player. The player was always keen to stay and happy to stay."

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He also said De Gea's value is "zero" because he's not on the market and called him the best goalkeeper in the world, something he always believes about his stoppers.

Mourinho's comments followed reports regarding De Gea's contract negotiations earlier in August:

The Spain international has long been linked with a move to Real Madrid, dating back to before the summer of 2015, when he nearly joined Los Blancos but was denied a move because of a broken fax machine.

He signed a new contract shortly after, and speculation has gradually lessened since then. The European champions opted for Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois this summer, effectively ruling themselves out of the market for a new goalkeeper for years to come.

The summer of 2018 set a new standard for goalkeeper values and fees, with Alisson Becker and then Kepa Arrizabalaga moving to the Premier League in world-record deals. Both cost more than £65 million, and bet365 wondered what that meant for De Gea's overall value:

We're unlikely to find out anytime soon, however, if the former Atletico Madrid man signs a new contract. Now 27, his next deal should keep him at Old Trafford until well into his 30s.