David De Gea has performed a dramatic U-turn by signing a four-year contract at Manchester United, the goalkeeper doing so after accepting Real Madrid were culpable for his move to the Spanish club falling through.
United stated that De Gea’s new contract has an option of a further 12 months. His salary will be raised by at least £150,000 a-week to £200,000 a-week, with De Gea having been on £40,000-a-week aever since he moved to Old Trafford in the summer 2011.
Whether there is a release clause that Real could trigger next summer to revive the transfer is unclear. The 24-year-old had undeniably been set on joining the club and returning to his hometown.
I feel proud to announce that I'll continue with you and @manutd. Thanks for your unconditional support! pic.twitter.com/I6J7XGHKe2
— David De Gea (@D_DeGea) September 11, 2015“I am delighted to be starting this new chapter in my United career,” said De Gea in an official statement. “I have always enjoyed playing with these great players in front of our fantastic fans. Manchester United is a special club and Old Trafford is an ideal place for me to continue to develop my career. I’m looking forward to putting a difficult summer behind me and concentrating on working hard to improve and help my teammates to be successful.”
The United manager, Louis van Gaal, said: “I am absolutely delighted David has signed a new contract. He is one of the best goalkeepers in world football. I am very pleased that he will be part of the team for many years to come. David made a very important contribution to our performance last season and he has been the club’s player of the year for the last two seasons. He is a popular player who is keen to learn and enhance his game. At such a young age for a goalkeeper, he has many years ahead of him.”
De Gea’s transfer to Real fell through on 31 August, at the end of Spain’s summer transfer window. The next day United moved to make clear to De Gea and his advisors they had acted impeccably in the affair. This was accepted by the goalkeeper and his camp.
De Gea was surprised when Real waited until lunchtime of 31 August to lodge a first bid for him. Once this offer was eventually raised to a deal worth £29m that included Keylor Navas coming the other way, De Gea was confident he would finally seal the move. However, United believe Real went cold on the deal at around 7.30pm that evening.
The goalkeeper has yet to feature for United this season but could now return for Saturday’s visit of Liverpool.
(Guardian service)
