Manchester United reportedly begged David de Gea to refrain from joining another team.
The Old Trafford goalkeeper’s 32-year-old contract officially expired on Friday, making him a free agent. However, United is still hopeful he doesn’t sign with another team.
Despite having already agreed to a pay cut from £375,000 per week to £200,000, Erik ten Hag pulled the offered conditions off the table, leaving De Gea uncertain of his future.
Prior to sales, Ten Hag was given a £120 million transfer budget, but that amount has now been cut in half after a £60 million Mason Mount transfer fee was agreed upon with Chelsea.
The Sun reports that United are asking De Gea not to sign with another club in case Ten Hag decides to bring him back to the team if a new number one cannot be signed within their budget due to those budgetary constraints.
With a new custodian and striker still being priority purchases, there’s a potential that United will turn to De Gea in a desperate attempt to stretch their remaining £60 million budget to cover both positions.
The way United treated De Gea is even more startling when you know that the Spaniard has made 545 appearances for the Red Devils overall, placing him ninth on the list of appearance leaders all-time.
De Gea also holds the club’s record for most clean sheets (181) after passing Peter Schmeichel in the Carabao Cup final victory over Newcastle United. De Gea’s fifth trophy with the team since joining in 2011 was the victory in February at Wembley.
However, given that he is being married to his partner Edurne Garcia this weekend, any contract negotiations or discussions about De Gea’s future are expected to be put on hold.
However, conversations about a De Gea replacement have already started, with the Red Devils reportedly having spoken to the agents of Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana. However, they have not yet made touch with Inter, who are reportedly holding out for £50 million.
The impending arrival of Mount has caused United to give up on its chase of Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur and Victor Osimhen of Napoli, both teams wanting more than £100 million to acquire them.
Given that Donny van de Beek, Fred, and Anthony Elanga are all expected to be available for £20 million this summer, United will likely have to rely on sales to increase its budget.