David de Gea
David de Gea Quintana is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Fiorentina, whom he also captains. He is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers of his generation.
Born in Madrid, De Gea began his playing career with Atlético Madrid, rising through the academy system at the club before making his senior debut in 2009, aged 18. After being made Atlético's first-choice goalkeeper, he helped the team win the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup in 2010. His performances subsequently attracted the attention of Manchester United, and De Gea joined the club in 2011 for £18.9 million, a British record for a goalkeeper at the time.
During his time in Manchester, De Gea made over 500 appearances and won a Premier League title, an FA Cup, two League Cups, three Community Shields and a second Europa League. For three consecutive seasons from 2013–14 to 2015–16, he was elected as United's Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year, the first player in the award's history to win on three successive occasions, as well as being included in four consecutive PFA Team of the Year sides from 2015 to 2018. In 2018, he was named in the FIFA FIFPro World11. De Gea left United following the expiration of his contract in 2023, and, following a year away from football, joined Fiorentina.
Tipped by many as the successor to Iker Casillas as Spain's long-term goalkeeper, De Gea was the captain for the Spain under-21 national team that won the European Championship in 2011 and 2013, and also competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics. He made his debut for the senior team in 2014 and was selected for that year's World Cup. De Gea was named as Spain's starting goalkeeper for UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup, receiving criticism for his performance in the latter. He lost his regular place to Unai Simón for Euro 2020.
Club career
Atlético Madrid
Youth and Atlético B
Born in Madrid and raised in Illescas, De Gea joined Atlético Madrid at the age of 13 when his then coach Juan Luis Martín lied to the club that Rayo Vallecano were set to sign him. A few days later, Diego Díaz scouted De Gea and signed him immediately. He made his way up through the youth ranks at the club before signing his first professional contract in 2008, aged 17, contracting him to Atlético until 2011. He spent his second season for Atlético Madrid B in Segunda División B. In the summer of 2009, De Gea was approached by Numancia and English team Queens Park Rangers with regards to a loan move, with Atlético sporting director Jesús García Pitarch pushing for him to move to Numancia. De Gea rejected the approach, and was punished by being forced to train by himself. Weeks later, Atlético manager Abel Resino noticed De Gea training alone and invited him to train with the first team, where he was rated as the third-choice goalkeeper. The same summer, Atlético rejected an offer from English team Wigan Athletic for a permanent transfer for De Gea.2009–10 season: First-team call-up
With first-choice goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo away on international duty at the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup, De Gea was called up to the senior team as cover for Roberto. He made his debut for the Atlético first-team at the age of 18 on 30 September 2009, coming on as a substitute after Roberto was injured after 27 minutes of Atlético's UEFA Champions League group stage match away to Porto; De Gea conceded two late goals as Atlético lost 2–0. Roberto's injury meant that De Gea was given his La Liga debut three days later, at home to Real Zaragoza; he gave away a penalty kick in the 19th minute, but immediately redeemed himself by saving Marko Babić's attempt in a 2–1 win. He described starting at the Vicente Calderón Stadium as a "dream since childhood". In January 2010, De Gea was touted as a possible replacement for Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who was set to retire in 2011. Days later, however, he signed a new contract which would keep him with Atlético until 2013.After some costly mistakes by Asenjo, and the arrival of Quique Sánchez Flores as manager, De Gea finished the 2009–10 season as the starting goalkeeper. He won two man of the match awards along the way, against Athletic Bilbao and Valencia. Additionally, he appeared in eight matches in the club's victorious UEFA Europa League campaign, including the 2–1 final win against Fulham. Diego Forlán later said of his first season, "David was good enough for the top level at 19 and the players had confidence in him."
2010–11 season
De Gea began the 2010–11 season by keeping a clean sheet in a 2–0 victory over Inter Milan in the 2010 UEFA Super Cup; in the 90th minute, he saved a Diego Milito penalty kick. In September, it was reported that Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson had missed a League Cup match with Scunthorpe United to travel to Spain to watch De Gea in action against Valencia. De Gea played down the rumours, saying, "The important thing is that I have a contract here and I'm an Atletico player until 2013."Following his "faultless" performance in the Madrid Derby on 7 November, De Gea was hailed as the heir apparent to Real Madrid's goalkeeper Iker Casillas for Spain, a sentiment Casillas agreed with, saying, "In Spain we are lucky to have very good goalkeepers and De Gea soon might be fighting my place in the team," while Spain manager Vicente del Bosque described De Gea as "the future of the team". He remained the undisputed starting goalkeeper for the remainder of the season, going on to play in every La Liga match for the team en route to a seventh-place finish.
Manchester United
Transfer
Throughout the 2010–11 season, speculation regarding how Manchester United would replace their retiring goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was widespread, and much attention focused on De Gea as United's key target. After Gary Neville's testimonial against Juventus on 24 May, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson claimed that a deal had been done to bring De Gea to Old Trafford, but this was later denied by the player's representatives and the Atlético management, with De Gea stating that he would not consider his future until after the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Following Spain's victory in the tournament, De Gea was spotted in Manchester undergoing a medical with United on 27 June. The next day, he reported that United were making him a contract offer, and the transfer was confirmed on 29 June for a then-British record fee for a goalkeeper of approximately £18.9 million.Growing up, De Gea had admired United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, and was often compared to Van der Sar, furthered by being dubbed "Van der Gea".
2011–12 season
De Gea made his first appearance for Manchester United in a 3–1 friendly win over Chicago Fire on 23 July 2011. He made his competitive debut for United against Manchester City in the Community Shield on 7 August. Despite being caught out in the first-half by a header from Joleon Lescott and a long-range Edin Džeko strike that put City into a 2–0 lead, United rallied in the second half and won 3–2. De Gea made his league debut for Manchester United against West Bromwich Albion a week later, where he received criticism for failing to save Shane Long's goal during a 2–1 United victory, which Ferguson described as "a learning process". De Gea kept his first clean sheet for United on his Old Trafford debut in the following fixture, a 3–0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur. In the following match, six days later, De Gea saved a penalty from Arsenal captain Robin van Persie, which would have cancelled out United's 1–0 lead. He made further saves to deny Van Persie and Andrey Arshavin in United's 8–2 victory. Teammate Wayne Rooney backed De Gea to succeed at United and hailed him as a "strong character".On 18 September, Manchester United beat Chelsea 3–1 at Old Trafford, with De Gea making a string of saves, particularly from Ramires – when the midfielder had an empty net to side-foot home, De Gea quickly got across to smother the ball away. De Gea's improvement in form continued in his next appearance, as he made two notable saves to help his team to a 1–1 draw away at Stoke City, and his overall performance was praised by teammates Patrice Evra and Darren Fletcher. De Gea made his first ever UEFA Champions League start in a 3–3 draw against Basel on 27 September 2011. On 15 October, De Gea was praised for his efforts at Anfield as United drew 1–1 against Liverpool, providing important saves in a nerve-free performance, prompting Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish to joke, "I thought the press said the boy was struggling."
On 23 October 2011, De Gea played as Manchester United suffered their worst home defeat since 1955 with a 6–1 loss against cross-town rivals Manchester City, the first time United had conceded six goals at home since 1930. De Gea was in goal during the league defeat to Blackburn Rovers and was blamed by most media outlets for failing to deal with an aerial ball that led to the conceding of a late goal by Grant Hanley in a 3–2 defeat. De Gea was nonplussed by the error, saying, "all keepers make mistakes once in a while and none of us like it when we do. I have every intention of spending many years here at Manchester United. I want to become a great United keeper and I want to earn and deserve the respect I hope to get," and spoke of his intentions of surpassing his predecessor: "Hopefully, I will equal or even surpass the performance and contribution Edwin van der Sar made to the club." After this match, De Gea was dropped and replaced by United's second-choice goalkeeper, Anders Lindegaard. An injury to Lindegaard saw De Gea return to the starting line-up for a 3–3 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 5 February 2012. De Gea later cited his last-minute save from Juan Mata during this match as the turning point in his season, as he went on to play the club's last 19 matches, keeping eight clean sheets.
After a difficult first season in England, De Gea said, "There have been doubts in the first season but I always had faith in my ability. The pressure at an elite club like United is huge but Ferguson just told me to do what I did at Atlético. You have to be as strong when things go wrong but I don't get nervous. Mistakes are normal; everyone makes them." His goalkeeping rival Lindegaard, however, promised to fight for the place he lost via injury, saying, "I want the number one spot because I am the best. I am sure he is a bit in front right now because he did well last season, so I need to take every chance I get to prove myself worthy of the number one spot." De Gea later admitted that he thought about leaving after the first season.