It is always sad when a club legend doesn’t receive a proper send off. For David de Gea, who has spent 12 years at Old Trafford, there should have been fireworks, flags and a guard of honour, but instead there was FA Cup final humiliation and a long-drawn out exit.
His last game in a Manchester United shirt was not one befitting of his legendary status at Old Trafford, instead ending in FA Cup disappointment at the hands of arch rivals City and including a costly error from the Spaniard himself.
However, during his 545 appearances for the Red Devils, De Gea has enjoyed some terrific moments. He has won silverware, awards and embraced the unconditional love of the Old Trafford crowd.
Despite its abrupt ending, there is plenty to celebrate from De Gea’s 12 years with the Red Devils.
With De Gea and Phil Jones having left the club, there are now no remaining players from Manchester United’s last Premier League title-winning side from 2012/13 still in the squad.
It has proven to be De Gea’s one and only English league title and the Spaniard played a sizeable role in Sir Alex Ferguson’s side lifting the trophy. Making 28 appearances and keeping 11 clean sheets, his quality before the season began had been regularly questioned after a slow start to life in England.
As often proved to be the case, Ferguson’s faith was rewarded, with De Gea earning his spot in the PFA Team of the Year. It will likely go down as De Gea’s most significant piece of silverware across a glittering career.
Not only is De Gea the only goalkeeper to win the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award since its inception in the late 1980s, the 32-year-old has won it four times.
Most notably, during one of United’s darkest periods in recent history, De Gea won the accolade three successive years between 2013 and 2016. The Spaniard also found himself in the PFA Team of the Year twice during that three-year period as a result of his staggering shot-stopping prowess.
De Gea saved the Red Devils countless points during some difficult campaigns, often bailing out a defence that left him woefully exposed.
There was not just one occasion in which De Gea successfully thwarted Liverpool. Although recent history has benefitted the Merseysiders, United went through an excellent period of dominance against the Reds, with De Gea often proving impenetrable.
The Spaniard put in heroic performances at Anfield during a 1-0 win in 2016, as well as a 2-0 defeat and 0-0 draw in the same year. Two years prior he had even won player of the match in a 3-0 win over the Reds at Old Trafford after producing some sublime saves, in particular one following a Mario Balotelli effort.
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Arsenal fans must have been cursing De Gea in December 2017. During a 3-1 victory for United in north London, the goalkeeper produced 14 saves over the 90 minutes, a Premier League record he shares with Tim Krul and Vito Mannone.
Such a scintillating display solidified his position as one of the finest shot-stoppers the Premier League has ever seen, with his cat-like reflexes thwarting Arsene Wenger’s side on this occasion. The Frenchman described him as “absolutely outstanding” after the final whistle, which was something of an understatement.
For goalkeepers, clean sheets are king. De Gea reached an impressive milestone last season at Old Trafford claiming his 179th clean sheet against Leicester City, surpassing Peter Schmeichel’s club record in the process.
The Spaniard finished the Premier League season with 17 shutouts, enough to win him the Premier League Golden Glove for the second time in his career. It was a fitting farewell in the end for De Gea, who finished the season as the league’s number one.
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