30 Extraordinary Facts About David de Gea Every Fan Must Know

David de Gea, regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, has seen it all – from being praised and compared to the legends, to being criticized and even replaced in the team, in his very short career. In fact, he is one of those players, who gives it all to his team, since the very first second of the match, and still ends up being criticized. He is known for his outstanding reflexes, agility, and shot-stopping ability between the posts. Here are some really interesting facts about the remarkable goalkeeper:

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1.  David de Gea was selected as the Manchester United’s Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year, for three consecutive years from 2013-14, to 2015-16. This makes him the first player in the award’s history to have achieved such a feat.
2.  In the year 2018, Shay Given, former Irish professional goalkeeper, labeled him as the best shot-stopper in the world.
3.  On November 7, 2010, he was hailed as the heir apparent to Real Madrid’s goalkeeper Iker Cascillas, for Spain, which Casillas also agreed with. Spain manager Vicente del Bosque described De Gea as “the future of the team.”
4.  He was confirmed as farsighted in January 2012, although that did not affect his performances in any way. Since then, he is known to wear contact lenses to prevent his condition from affecting his performance.
5.  During the 2007 European Championship, he helped Spain’s under-17 team to win the championship, and at the 2007 World Cup, he led the team to finish second.
6.  David de Gea Quintana was born on November 7, 1990, to Jose de Gea and Marivi Quintana in Madrid, Spain. He is their only child, and was conceived only when they were in their 40s.
7.  His father was also a goalkeeper, while his mother was a housekeeper. Although since his childhood days, David was more interested in sports, his mother kept pushing him to focus on academics.
8.  While David excelled in both academics as well as sports, with his father being a former footballer, David got the best training facilities, and started training in every position until the age of 14.
9.  He was initially an outfield player, who played as a midfielder for his school team. Be it an attacking player or a defender, David was great in every position.
10.  But, inspired by his father, he decided to work harder on his goalkeeping skills, and performed his absolute best in goalkeeping.

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11.  During his school days, apart from playing football, he was also a very good basketball player. It is said that he used to play basketball whenever he was free.
12.  When he was 13 years old, he joined Atlético Madrid, as his coach Juan Luis Martin lied to the club that Rayo Vallecano was to sign him. A few days later, retired Spanish footballer Diego Diaz Garrido scouted David and signed him immediately.
13.  He made his way through the youth ranks and signed his first professional contract in the year 2008, when he was only 17 years old. He was contracted to Atlético until 2011.
14.  He was approached by English team Queens Park Rangers and Numancia, for a loan move, but David did not think twice before rejected the approach.
15.  Atlético sporting director Jesús García Pitarch had been supporting Numancia, and had pushed him to accept their offer. However, with his rejection, he was punished by being forced to train by himself.
16.  While De Gea was practicing alone, Atlético manager Abel Resino noticed him and invited him to train with the first team, where he was a third-choice goalkeeper.
17.  He also received an offer from English team Wigan Athletic for a permanent transfer, which was rejected by Atlético Madrid, during the summer of 2009.
18.  During his debut 2009-2010 season, he earned two “Man of the Match” awards. But in the debut “Championship League” match against Porto, he gave away two goals in the last minutes, costing his team the match.
19.  Throughout the entire 2010-11 season, there were speculations that David would replace Manchester United’s retiring goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, as United’s key target was De Gea.
20.  However, just a few days later, in January 2010, he signed a new contract with Atlético Madrid, extended his time with the club until 2013.

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21.  On June 29, 2011, he accepted the transfer contract from Manchester for a British record fee for a goalkeeper of approximately £18.9 million.
22.  In October 2011, David gave away six goals in a UEFA Champions League match against Manchester City, resulting in the worst home defeat since the year 1955.
23.  His performance was criticized extremely, and his team decided to replace him for the next few matches, bringing in the United's second-choice goalkeeper, Anders Lindegaard.
24.  But on February 5, 2012, an injury to Lindegaard saw the return of De Gea, which led to him playing the club’s last 19 matches of the season. His first season with Manchester United was disappointing, to the extent that he thought of even quitting.
25.  During the 2012-2013 season, he saved some difficult goals and led his team to several victories. Still, he was often criticized for missing a few saves. He finished the season having 11 clean sheets in the 28 games that he played in.
26.  However, from one of the most criticized goalkeepers, he turned into one of the most respected goalkeepers in the next two seasons, and even won the Players’ Player of the Year Award.
27.  During the 2018 FIFA World Cup, he recorded fewer saves, than any other goalkeeper who had played at least three matched in a single season of the tournament since the year 1966.
28.  David was in a relationship with the famous Spanish singer, actress, and television presenter Edurne Garcia Almargo, for a long time. Edurne is actually five years older than him.
29.  The couple are currently residing in Manchester, as Edurne was citied saying that she has moved to Manchester to be with him. The couple welcomed their first daughter Yanay, born on March 4, 2021.
30.  On May 24, 2021, David was included in the Luis Enrique’s 24-man squad, for the UEFA Euro 2020, scheduled to be held from June 11, 2021 to July 11, 2021.
31.  David de Gea Net Worth: $75 Million