With the entrance of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS, Manchester United has already undergone significant changes, especially in the background.

To be sure, there will likely be a lot of player movement this summer as well as departures; Erik ten Hag’s position is not certain.

Erik Ten Hag Man’s United Arsenal, Mikkel-Arteta
Reducing player pay will be the first step in a plan to transform the culture at Old Trafford, which over the previous ten years has become accustomed to failure.

In light of this, let’s examine a former United player who stole millions from the team in his final season of play.

The Man United career of David De Gea
There’s no denying that, between now and the conclusion of Sir Alex Ferguson’s tenure, David De Gea’s performance for United was undoubtedly one of their greatest and most reliable.

The 2011 David de Gea Community Shield
When the twenty-year-old Spaniard signed with the Red Devils in 2011 for a reported £18.9 million, there were high hopes for him to perform right away.

The former potential of Atletico Madrid rose to the top under Sir Alex Ferguson, even starting 28 games in United’s Premier League championship-winning 2012–13 season.


De Gea earned four Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year accolades between 2013–14 and 2017–18, demonstrating his growing importance to the Red Devils over the next years.

Although many will continue to think of the number one as a United legend, his final season at the club ended quite toxically.

Andre Onana, United Kingdom
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David De Gea’s salary for 2022–2023
De Gea was always going to be the best heading into the season, and even with Ten Hag’s arrival, the Spanish custodian started every Premier League match.

With the 6 foot 4 gloveman recording 17 clean sheets in the league alone, the season appeared to be a success statistically, but as the season progressed, his shortcomings became apparent.

Manchester United’s de-gea-old-trafford premier league
This guaranteed that his extraordinarily high salary would be questioned, as would his future as his contract was set to expire in the summer. The goalie made an incredible £19.5 million last season alone, according to Capology.

This translates to £375 a week when broken down into weekly wages, as you can see below, making him the second-highest earner at the club despite his inability to justify that money on the pitch.

Man Utd’s Top Earners for 2022–2023

Participant

Weekly income

Ronaldo Cristiano

£515,000.

David De Gea

£375,000.

Casemiro

£350,000

Rafael Varane

£340,000

Anthony Martial

£250,000

Through Capology

Ten Hag’s concept of relying on his goalkeeper to be particularly comfortable with the ball is the root of the issue; as seen by his 68% pass accuracy and 19.5 correct passes per game, the 33-year-old couldn’t offer that. To put things in perspective, since joining, new stopper Andre Onana has completed 72% of his passes.

Furthermore, De Gea was reportedly “weak” in goal, with a goals prevented percentage of -1.55—poor when compared to Onana’s +4.10 this season—according to football creator Liam Canning.

De Gea’s tenure at Manchester United appeared to be coming to an end at the close of the season, and he is presently a free agent.