Did You Know? 5 facts about Manchester United star David De Gea
Football Soccer - Premier League - Manchester United vs West Ham United - Manchester, Britain - August 13, 2017 Manchester United's David De Gea celebrates after Anthony Martial scores their third goal REUTERS/Andrew Yates EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
Shoot! would like to wish Manchester United star David De Gea many happy returns as the goalkeeper celebrates his 27th birthday today!
The Spain international, who has earned 24 caps for his country, has established himself as one of the Premier League’s greatest shot stoppers after joining The Red Devils back in June 2011.
Having spent a then British record transfer fee for a goalkeeper of £17.8m to lure De Gea from La Liga outfit Atletico Madrid, the 27-year-old has rewarded United with an array of tremendous performances and silverware.
Have a great day, @D_DeGea! pic.twitter.com/YayHu7Jqy6
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 7, 2017
Overall, De Gea has recorded 107 clean sheets in 285 appearances in all competitions for the Premier League giants, lifting the league title, the FA Cup, the League Cup, the UEFA Europa League and three FA Community Shields.
This term, the Spaniard has impressively kept 11 shutouts in 16 games for Jose Mourinho’s side, with United currently sat second in the top-flight standings.
So, to celebrate the keeper’s latest milestone, here is Shoot!‘s five facts you may not know about De Gea…
Popstar lifestyle
Off the pitch, the Manchester United star is in a relationship with Edurne Garcia Almagro.
The 31-year-old is a Spanish singer, actress and TV presenter, who represented their country at the Eurovision song contest in 2015, finishing 21st overall.
Senior team struggles
De Gea represented his country right from Under-15 level, to the Under-23 side, but he didn’t make his senior Spain debut until June 2014, when he was 23-years-old.
This is mainly due to the reign of the legendary Iker Casillas (Pictured left), who has earned 167 caps for his homeland, and has dominated the number one jersey since the millennium.
Madrid Dream
De Gea joined his first club, Atletico Madrid, at the age of just 13.
Born in Madrid, Atletico beat Rayo Vallecano to the signing of the highly rated youngster, who worked his way through the youth ranks before putting pen to paper on his first professional contract in 2008.
After making his first-team debut against FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League in September 2009, he went on to record 23 clean sheets in 84 appearances in all competitions for Atletico, winning the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup.
Goalscorer rather than a goalkeeper
De Gea actually started his career as a striker with Atletico Madrid, becoming his side’s top goalscorer when he was 14-years-old.
Wigan’s woes
De Gea’s Premier League career could have turned out VERY different!
In the summer of 2009, Spanish publication Marca claim Atletico Madrid rejected an offer from then top-flight side Wigan Athletic for De Gea’s signature.