Here are some facts you need to know about David De Gea
David De Gea (Full Name – David de Gea Quintana) is a Spanish goalkeeper born on 7 November 1990 in Madrid, Spain. His father’s name is Jose De Gea and mother is Marivi Quintana.
Childhood
David de Gea’s father was a goalkeeper too, and his mother, Marivi, worked as a housekeeper. His father being a former footballer, David was fortunate to make use of the best training facilities.
He played as a midfielder for his school team. Moreover, he was great in every position, as an attacking player or a defender, until the age of 14, when he finally recognized his love for goalkeeping.
Drawing inspiration from his father, he decided to work harder on his goalkeeping skills. He was a tall kid and played basketball during his free time.
At the age of 13, he joined Atletico Madrid, and played wonderfully, and finally ended up with a professional contract at the age of 17.
Career
In the debut 2009–2010 season, David De Gea won two ‘Man of the Match’ awards. He improved his performance in the La Liga. Manchester United had just lost their legendary goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and were looking for a suitable replacement.
He performed brilliantly to ensure his team’s victory at the UEFA Super Cup. David put all speculations to rest by stating that he was bound to a contract with Atletico until 2013 and that he was not going anywhere before that.
In 2011, he helped Spain’s ‘Under-21’ team to secure a ‘UEFA European Championship’ win, and in June 2011, it was officially confirmed that David had been signed by United for a record sum of 18.9 million pounds.
On July 23, 2011, he played against ‘Chicago Fire’ in his debut match, which United on by 2-1. In October 2011, David gave away six goals in a UEFA Champions League match against Manchester City.
His performance was criticized to an extreme degree, and the team management decided to replace him in the next few matches. David accepted that his first season with United was a disappointment.
In February 2013, he saved some difficult goals from his opponents. He was eventually voted into the ‘PFA Premier League Team of the Year’ by the end of the season. He ended up having 11 clean sheets in the 28 games that he played in.
During the next two seasons, he won the ‘Players’ Player of the Year’ award in both the seasons. In 2014–2015 season, he won the ‘Save of the Season’ award.
In May 2016, he won another ‘Players’ Player of the Year’ award for the 2015–2016 season and became the first player to win the honor three times in a row. In April 2017, he was included in the ‘PFA Team of the Year.’
He was the goalkeeper in Spain’s ‘Under-17’ team that won the ‘European Championship’ in 2007 and ended up as the first runner-up in the ‘Under-17 World Cup’ the same year.
He was further selected as his senior team’s goalkeeper for the 2014 ‘World Cup.’ De Gea further led his national ‘Under-21’ team to win the ‘European Championships’ in 2011 and 2013.
Awards & Achievemetns
- PREMIER LEAGUE – 1X
- FA CUP – 1X
- EFL CUP – 1X
- 2X EUROPA LEAGUE
- 2X EUROPEAN UNDER-21
- 1X EUROPEAN UNDER-17
- 1X UEFA SUPERCUP
- 3X FA COMMUNITY SHIELD
Personal Life
David de Gea is in a relationship with famous singer Edurne Garcia Almagro, who is five years older than him. They have a son – Yanay.
He is an ardent fan of metal music and regularly attends concerts and music shows in Manchester.
