After having been at the end of a ragged deal by his previous club, former Manchester United No. 1 David de Gea should now be in a much better state of mind and temperament now as he mulls over immensely lucrative offers from a number of Saudi Arabian clubs and looks poised to earn even more money than he was making at Old Trafford.
The former United shot-stopper is apparently all set to enlarge his coffers despite leaving in his wake both his former club and and his lucrative contract behind as the Daily Star Sport understands the Spaniard is being targeted by several Saudi Arabian sides who are willing to nearly double his previous £375,000 a week wage packet.
Although a switch to Cristiano Ronaldo’s club Al-Nassr is currently on hold after they were handed a transfer ban over outstanding payments from previous deals, other suitors are circling and beginning to swoop in.
De Gea’s ridiculously mammoth wages were a major reason for United deciding not to renew his contract this summer. The 32-year-old had initially agreed to slash his earnings to £200,000 a week, but did not expect the club to withdraw the offer at the last minute in a penny-pinching bid to lower his wages even further.
De Gea – obviously irked by United’s behaviour and being already a free agent at that point following the expiration of his contract – opted to walk away from negotiations, hence terminating his 12-year association with the club. It was for all purposes a prudent move considering Erik ten Hag had already sanctioned approaches for both Everton keeper Jordan Pickford and Inter Milan shot stopper Andre Onana earlier in the month.
The Red Devils were clearly put off by Everton’s shocking £70m asking price for Pickford and have since opted to focus on Onana instead, with the latter now looking all set to join the club after agreeing personal terms ahead of a £50m move.
According to reports, United had the gall to ask De Gea to wait until they’d signed his replacement before the shot-stopper joined another club, in case Ten Hag decided to re-sign him. Whether the veteran keeper agreed to do so is still undisclosed.
De Gea leaves United as the highest-capped goalkeeper and the highest-capped overseas player in the club’s history after racking up 545 appearances. He won six major honors during his spell at Old Trafford, including the Premier League in 2013 and the Europa League in 2017.