David de Gea would have happily returned to Manchester United last season – if Erik ten Hag and John Murtough were no longer at the club.
The Spaniard, 33, spent more than a decade at Old Trafford after being signed by Sir Alex Ferguson but was bombed out of the club following Ten Hag’s first year at the helm following months of contract negotiations.
Since then, De Gea has been linked with a number of clubs and was even tipped to return to United in order to provide cover for Andre Onana during the Africa Cup of Nations.
A report from The Athletic has since outlined that De Gea would have been open to such a move – but only if Ten Hag and Murtough were no longer in power.
It’s said that the veteran goalkeeper admitted to his inner circle that he was upset with Ten Hag and United’s former football director, Murtough, and that he held both of them responsible for his exit.
While De Gea would go on to spend the entire 2023/24 campaign as a free agent, the winds of change did blow through Old Trafford following Sir Jim Ratcliffe‘s acquisition of a minority stake in the club. His arrival was followed by the departure of Murtough, who announced in April that he would be standing down after 11 years of service across a variety of roles.
It seemed highly likely that Ten Hag would follow him out the door at the end of last season after the Dutchman oversaw a poor Premier League campaign which saw United finish in eighth-place.
De Gea would have returned if Ten Hag and former football director John Murtough were no longer at the club
Ratcliffe and the club’s top brass announced plans to conduct a thorough end of season review and there was even speculation that Ten Hag would still be replaced despite masterminding a 2-1 win over arch-rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
Ultimately, though, Ten Hag was handed a reprieve by Manchester United’s new football leadership team and has since seen his contract extended until the summer of 2026.
With Ten Hag still in place, a return for De Gea is unlikely to materialise and the report adds he has no desire to play for any other team in the Premier League. He does not, though, plan to retire after snubbing offers from Saudi Arabia and Europe.
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