De Gea never considered retirement during exile before Fiorentina move

David de Gea never considered retirement despite spending over 12 months out of football between his Manchester United exit and his arrival at Fiorentina.

De Gea left Manchester United as a free agent in 2023 after being heavily criticised throughout Erik ten Hag’s first season at Old Trafford, with Andre Onana replacing him with a view towards implementing a more possession-based approach.

The Spaniard won one Premier League title, one FA Cup, two EFL Cups and the Europa League throughout his 12-year stay with United, while Petr Cech (162) is the only goalkeeper to ever better his 147 Premier League clean sheets.

However, he found it difficult to find another club and spent the entire 2023-24 campaign out of the game amid rumours linking him with a move to Saudi Arabia.

Having finally landed in Serie A with Raffaele Palladino’s Viola, De Gea says he never thought about hanging up his gloves.

“Man United is a top, top club and my heart will always be there,” the 33-year-old said at his unveiling on Monday.

“I never thought about retiring, it was just difficult to find motivation for a new chapter after 12 years at a top club like Man United.

“I finally felt that at Fiorentina.”

@D_DeGea #forzaviola #fiorentina pic.twitter.com/YHM7ITAq4E

— ACF Fiorentina English (@ACFFiorentinaEN) August 12, 2024

De Gea won the Premier League’s Golden Glove by keeping 17 clean sheets in his final season with United, though his total of 43 goals conceded came from a figure of just 41.45 expected goals on target (xGoT) faced.

He was also criticised for a perceived inability to build from the back, with his pass completion rate of 68.33% ranking a lowly 13th among all goalkeepers to make at least five Premier League starts.