How De Gea ended up at Fiorentina: Man United exit, year off, wage cut, penalty heroics

David De Gea reportedly turned down multiple offers from several different countries before joining Fiorentina as a free agent in the summer, and now, the Spaniard looks back to his best in Tuscany. Here’s how La Viola were able to pull a deal off for the former Manchester United goalkeeper.

How Fiorentina signed De Gea after 12 years with Manchester United

De Gea left United as a free agent in the summer of 2023, having made 545 appearances in all competitions across a 12-year spell, which put him as the seventh-highest appearance maker in the club’s history.

He has previously revealed that he felt too emotional to assess offers from other clubs in the immediate aftermath of his United exit, and later decided to take an extended break, although the training never really stopped.

As a free agent, De Gea trained twice a day with his former United coach Craig Ellison, and used his spare moments to spend time with his family and engage in other hobbies outside of football, often posting pictures from his Padel matches on social media.

Then, as the summer rolled around again, De Gea began receiving proposals from clubs across the world.

According to Gianluca Di Marzio, there were several from the Saudi Pro League, as well as in his home nation of Spain.

There were also other options in Serie A, as Genoa had been interested in picking up the valuable free agent. The Grifone, under their controversial 777 Partners ownership, were ultimately unable to get a final approval of the deal.

That pushed De Gea towards Fiorentina, who were able to get a deal wrapped up in a matter of days.

The Spaniard eventually signed a one-year contract with an option to extend for a further 12 months. He is currently earning a reported salary of €1.2m, less than a tenth of what he earned at Old Trafford. That figure will rise to around €2.2m if Fiorentina decide to extend the deal.

Two months into the season, De Gea is already becoming a fan favourite in Tuscany. He has already saved as many penalties for Fiorentina as he did in his last eight years with Manchester United, while WhoScored have ranked him as the best goalkeeper in Europe this season by average match ratings.