The latest Man Utd news as former goalkeeper David De Gea makes his first return to Old Trafford.
De Gea in action for Man Utd.
David De Gea will make his first return to Old Trafford this weekend.
(Image: Getty Images)
David De Gea is set to make his first return to Old Trafford since his Manchester United exit on Saturday.
The 34-year-old left United in June 2023 - after 12 years with the club. During that time, De Gea made 545 appearances, winning the Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Europa League among other honours.
However, De Gea departed United following the expiration of his contract, leaving him as a free agent.
United, meanwhile, replaced the Spain international with Andre Onana in a £47.5million deal from Inter Milan.
There had been talk that De Gea could return straight to action and move to Saudi Arabia, but the ex-Atletico Madrid stopper instead spent a considerable amount of time out of the game. Indeed, De Gea did not sign for another club for more than 12 months - until August 2024 - when he made the move to Serie A side Fiorentina.
De Gea made his debut in the Conference League against Puskas Akademia and went on to have a top debut season in Florence. In total, De Gea made 42 appearances, keeping 11 clean sheets and conceding just 50 goals.
Now, De Gea, who signed a new three-year contract at Fiorentina back in May, is expected to make his return to United on Saturday when his side travel to Old Trafford for a pre-season friendly.
But exactly how does De Gea feel about United, two years since he left the club? Well, speaking last summer, the Spaniard had nothing but positive things to say about his former employers.
In his press conference after signing for Fiorentina, in August 2024, De Gea said: "United is a top, top club and my heart will always be there. I never thought about retiring, it was just difficult to find motivations for a new chapter after 12 years at a top club like Manchester United... and I finally felt that at Fiorentina.
"I spent a year in Manchester, before returning to Madrid. I wanted to stay at a high level. I didn't stop. It's not easy to train alone. I spent two years in Manchester, it's my home. That's where my heart is set.
"It was difficult for me to find motivation to evaluate offers, so I decided to take a sabbatical.
"I am fit, I trained every day, even more than before. I am on a good level. Perhaps it will take some time in the first games, but I've been playing for many years, so you just need to put me in goal."
De Gea's Fiorentina have already played two matches on English soil this week. They lost 2-0 to EFL Championship side Leicester City last Sunday before being held to a 0-0 draw at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.
As well as welcoming De Gea back, United will hold a presentation pre-match to honour De Gea's time at the club. Bruno Fernandes will lead the presentation - which will take place ahead of kick-off.