David de Gea confirmed his departure from Manchester United, and Bruno Fernandes believes he deserved a better send-off.
The Red Devils star doesn’t seem pleased with the organization over the manner of the goalkeeper’s departure after serving as their No. 1 for more than ten years.
After his contract at Old Trafford expired, De Gea formally announced his exit on Saturday.
De Gea might still sign a new contract to continue with the Premier League powerhouses after Man United said last week that they were still in negotiations with the 32-year-old about a potential extension.
De Gea allegedly agreed to the club’s revised contract offer, which included a pay cut, but it was finally decided it was time for a breakup.
De Gea’s 12-year United career came to an end with 545 games and 190 clean sheets, both club records for a custodian, as the Red Devils hailed him as ‘forever a United icon’.
In Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season in command, he won the Premier League title in addition to one FA Cup, two EFL Cups, and the Europa League. He also amassed a number of individual honors, including two Premier League Golden Gloves and eight United Player of the Year accolades.
One of the first players to personally say goodbye to the glovesman on social media was Fernandes, who claimed the midfielder deserved a better send-off.
“You deserved to say goodbye at the stadium with all the fans cheering you for all the beautiful memories,” the Portuguese star wrote on Instagram.
“You made history at the club and your name will never be forgotten, and no one can take that away from you. All the best for what’s coming for you and your family.”
In the meantime, criticism of Manchester United’s handling of the De Gea contract dilemma was levelled at them for their ‘lack of class’.
Perry Groves, a former Arsenal winger, also criticized manager Erik ten Hag for treating a club legend unwelcome.
The talkSPORT analyst said during the Saturday Session: “I thought David de Gea would never play for Manchester United again because of the way they’ve handled him and made it crystal plain they didn’t want him.
“De Gea’s solicitors have been ineffective; they left him vulnerable to this, but Manchester United has lacked class.
“They retracted their contract offer, and as soon as that happened De Gea should have said, ‘I’m not going to play for Man United’.
“He knew that Ten Hag didn’t fancy him, because if he did fancy him he’d have said to Man United, ‘Get that deal done, he’s my No.1 goalkeeper’.”
Groves acknowledged that De Gea was deteriorating last season, but said that they have brought goalkeeper Andre Onana as a top-notch replacement.
Ten Hag is eager to reunite with the former Ajax custodian, and talkSPORT knows that Man United will approve a £45 million transfer for the Inter Milan No. 1 next week.
The custodian should have presence and a strong personality, and Andre Onana does that, according to Groves. He enjoys playing out from the back and is accustomed to playing on a large platform with Inter Milan. He has been really outstanding.
De Gea has performed admirably for Man United over the past 12 years, but most fans will probably concur that he has been losing strength.
A quality goalie should be performing better than that, but there were too many goals last season that weren’t howlers. He isn’t moving his feet as swiftly as he ought to, and his responses are slightly tardy.