David de Gea shared a cryptic post on social media platform X on Saturday, leading many fans to speculate that he is on the verge of returning to professional football. De Gea has been without a club since leaving Old Trafford as a free agent at the end of the 2022-23 season.
Erik ten Hag opted to replace De Gea with Andre Onana after the Spaniard made a series of high-profile mistakes in his final campaign at Old Trafford. United were planning on handing De Gea a contract extension before errors in big games towards the end of the campaign changed Erik ten Hag’s mind.
De Gea has been away from professional football for over 12 months. There has been interest in him but, as yet, nothing has come to fruition. However, the former United stopper prompted plenty of chatter on social media by sharing a post on X that simply contained an hour-glass emoji, insinuating that an announcement of some sort was on its way.
The replies to the post were filled with United fans wondering what the cryptic post was in reference to. One wrote: “What? You are joining a club???” while another said: “Please tell me you’re playing club football again David. I need to see you playing again.”
Ten Hag U-turn Led to De Gea Exit
Dutchman lost patience after multiple errors
De Gea won the Premier League’s Golden Glove award for keeping the most clean sheets in the division during his final season at United but did not fill his defenders with confidence with the ball at his feet.
Onana replaced De Gea as United’s first-choice goalkeeper last summer, joining the Red Devils in a big-money move from Inter Milan. Onana made a multitude of errors during his first few weeks at United but recovered from that rocky start and ended up being one of the team’s best players in his first season with the club.
As for De Gea, he is not strapped for cash after pocketing £375,000 every week for the duration of his final United contract and is clearly taking his time to decide what to do next, having been linked with a number of clubs during his time out of the game.
De Gea’s United exit was not particularly pretty. United had initially planned on keeping De Gea up until the final stages of the 2022-23 season, when Ten Hag U-turned following a string of mistakes against Sevilla, West Ham and Manchester City.
The mistake against City for their winning goal in the FA Cup final prompted Ten Hag to hint that a change would be made over the summer. “Say it like this, we are in the right direction,” he said. “But there are occasions in the game, issues in the game we have to improve, definitely, if we want to make the next step and win trophies.”
In his pomp De Gea was the world’s best in his position but expectations on goalkeepers have shifted dramatically in recent years and there was no clamour from elite clubs to sign him when he became a free agent.
What De Gea Has Been Doing Since Leaving United
Goalkeeper enjoying time away from the spotlight
The Athletic reported earlier this year that De Gea was “spending his time playing padel, staying fit, going out for dinners with friends, running an esports team and attending United Women’s matches.”
It was reported that De Gea held talks with teams across Europe last summer but that nothing could be agreed, with the goalkeeper reluctant to play for a team lower down the leagues. De Gea is also said to be in no rush to return to football having spent 14 years at the highest level across his spells with Atletico and United.
De Gea gave serious consideration to retiring last summer but has kept his cards close to his chest publicly. There have been links with a return to Spain as well as Saudi Arabia, while Newcastle weighed up the possibility of moving for him in January following a serious injury to Nick Pope.
It’s claimed that even clubs in Saudi Arabia were unwilling to match De Gea’s United salary, and that he would only consider moving there for a lucrative offer given his family would be unlikely to join him in the Middle East.
A move to the west coast of the United States is said to appeal, while he would also be open to playing for one of Europe’s top clubs again. Ultimately, though, De Gea is seemingly in no rush to revive his career and is enjoying his time away from the spotlight.