Large-scale changes are already underway at Manchester United following the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS, particularly behind the scenes.
However, it’s expected that plenty of movement will take place this summer in regards to players joining and leaving, with even Erik ten Hag’s job not being safe.
The aim will be to change the culture at Old Trafford, which has become accustomed to failure over the past decade, and it will start with reducing player wages.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at one former United player who rinsed the club of millions during his final season last campaign.
David De Gea’s Man Utd career
There’s no two ways about it: David De Gea was arguably one of United’s best and most consistent performances between now and the end of the Sir Alex Ferguson era.
The Spaniard joined the Red Devils in 2011 for a fee of £18.9m as a 20-year-old, with huge expectations to succeed instantly placed on his shoulders.
Atletico Madrid’s former prospect became the number one for Sir Alex Ferguson, even playing 28 matches during United’s 2012/13 Premier League winning campaign.
Over the following years, De Gea became a vital player for the Red Devils, as evidenced by the fact that he won four Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year awards between 2013/14 and 2017/18.
The number one was supposed to be remembered as a United icon, as many will still believe, but his final season at the club ended in a rather toxic fashion.
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David De Gea’s 2022/23 earnings
Going into the season, De Gea was always going to be number one, and even with the arrival of Ten Hag, the Spanish shot-stopper featured in every single Premier League game.
On paper, the season was most definitely a success in terms of numbers, with the 6 foot 4 gloveman keeping 17 clean sheets in the league alone, but as the season went on, his flaws were evident.
This ensured that his extremely high wage began to be questioned, along with his future due to his contract ending in the summer. Last season alone, the goalkeeper earned a whopping £19.5m as per Capology.
When broken down into a weekly wage, this equates to £375- per-week, and as you can see below, this made him the second-highest earner at the club, certainly failing to justify that pay on the pitch.
Man Utd’s Highest Earners 2022/23 | |
|---|---|
Player | Weekly wage |
Cristiano Ronaldo | £515k |
David De Gea | £375k |
Casemiro | £350k |
Raphael Varane | £340k |
Anthony Martial | £250k |
Via Capology | |
The problem stems from Ten Hag’s philosophy of relying on his goalkeeper being extremely comfortable on the ball, which the 33-year-old couldn’t provide, as shown by his 68% pass accuracy and 19.5 accurate passes per game. For context, new stopper Andre Onana has completed 72% of his passes after arriving.
On top of that, De Gea was also rather “weak” between the sticks, according to football creator Liam Canning, having a goals prevented of -1.55, which is poor compared to Onana’s +4.10 this season.
Towards the end of the campaign, it was quite clear that De Gea’s time at Man United was set to come to an end, and as of today, he’s currently a free agent.
Wage Burners
Football FanCast’s Wage Burners series explores the salaries of the modern-day game.
