Manchester United are preparing to say goodbye to a legend this Saturday against Fiorentina, in the final match of pre-season.
Longevity
David de Gea signed for United in 2011 to replace Champions League winning keeper Edwin van der Sar.
Despite some difficult moments in his early career, he went on to play a huge amount of games for the Red Devils, winning the Premier League, FA Cup, league cup and Europa League.
The Spanish international ended up spending 12 seasons at Old Trafford and made an incredible 545 appearances for the club, more than any other non British player.
Difficult exit
His exit from the club was hardly picture book however, as immense confusion surrounded his future in the summer of 2023.
It was originally believed that the keeper would sign a new deal but no offer was ever forthcoming from United and he left as a free agent.
The Spanish international was then replaced by Andre Onana and the results have not been how United fans would have liked.
Fiorentina
De Gea spent the 2023-2024 season out of football after turning down a plethora of moves all over the world.
He did finally agree a deal with Fiorentina last summer and was very impressive in his debut season in Serie A and recently signed a new deal at the club.
The keeper played 42 matches last season in all competitions and kept 11 clean sheets in total.
Old Trafford return
Due to the uncertainty over the 34-year-old’s exit, Old Trafford was never able to give the keeper a proper send off.
Saturday will provide that opportunity in what will surely be an emotional moment.
Ahead of the game, De Gea took to social media to post on X, “United Road. See you Saturday.”
United Road.
See you Saturday 🧤 https://t.co/wbLCMxdERF
— David de Gea (@D_DeGea) August 5, 2025
Despite the difficult ending to his career at United, he has always spoken of his love for the club and claimed he could never play for another English club out of respect for his former side.
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Alex Browne
Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Proud owner of such niche shirts such as Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Gary Neville. Grew up pretending to be Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the back garden, with little success.
