Man Utd icon drops bombshell as shock details emerge of plans to retire if transfer demands aren’t met
Former Manchester United star David De Gea is said to be considering retirement as the Spanish goalkeeper considers his next options.
The 32-year-old goalkeeper has been on the lookout for a new club all summer, but as things stand he is still a free agent.
While he had his ups and downs towards the end of his career at Old Trafford, he did keep an impressive 17 clean sheets and won the Premier League Golden Glove last season.
Erik ten Hag decided to replace De Gea with Andre Onana this summer as the Man Utd boss was looking for a goalkeeper with superior distribution skills.
While De Gea was no longer the right man for Ten Hag at Man Utd, he could certainly still do a job for a number of top sides from around Europe.
Bayern Munich and Real Madrid were both interested in the goalkeeper over the summer, but these clubs ultimately decided to pursue other deals.
The 32-year-old has also been linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League, but this move doesn’t seem to be of interest to De Gea right now.
With the former Man Utd star seemingly short of options, The Guardian has reported that the 32-year-old could decide to retire if he doesn’t receive an offer to become the first-choice goalkeeper at a major club.
De Gea is short of options
The problem facing De Gea is that the majority of top European clubs are content with the goalkeepers at their disposal.
A move to Real Madrid could have materialised on the back of Thibaut Courtois’ injury, but the Spanish giants decided to sign Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga instead.
It’s previously been reported that De Gea would prefer a move back to Spain this summer but his options in La Liga also seem fairly slim.
Real Madrid seem content with Kepa for the time being and neither Barcelona nor Atletico Madrid are on the lookout for a new goalkeeper right now.
Of course, De Gea could play the waiting game for a top club to become available but he can’t afford to be waiting around forever.
La Liga outfit Real Betis have reportedly been in talks with De Gea of late, but it remains to be seen whether or not the Spanish shot-stopper would be tempted by this move.
By all accounts, De Gea has been working hard behind the scenes to maintain his fitness while he waits for the right club to come along.
At this stage of his career, he wants to be playing regular football, but he might find that hard to come by at a top European club.
Goalkeepers tend to play into their late thirties and some even go beyond that. At 32 years old, De Gea certainly has plenty of life in him, but he remains in transfer limbo for the time being.
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