UK Edition
Manchester United begin talks with David de Gea over new long-term contract to ward off Real Madrid
Manchester United have begun preliminary talks with David de Gea over a new long-term contract for the Spain goalkeeper.
De Gea is out of contract at the end of next season although there is an option to extend that deal by a further 12 months.
Jose Mourinho, the United manager, said last week that the option would be triggered if necessary but that the club would be seeking to secure De Gea’s long-term future in the meantime.
It is understood that talks are at a very early stage, with contact made between United and De Gea’s representatives about a fortnight ago. The option in De Gea’s existing £200,000-a-week deal buys United some time and protection, especially if Real Madrid renew their long-standing interest in the Spaniard.
Real tried and failed to sign De Gea in 2015, when a £29 million bid that involved Keylor Navas moving to Old Trafford collapsed in the final hours of the transfer window amid much acrimony.
De Gea subsequently signed a new four-year contract with United, that included the option of an extra year, but Real have maintained their interest since.
Mourinho was prepared to let De Gea go last summer only for Real to pull back from a deal as they focused their efforts on trying to fund a move for France striker Kylian Mbappe, who subsequently joined Paris St-Germain.
The United manager has no intention of letting De Gea leave now and spelt out his desire to keep the goalkeeper last Friday. “It’s obvious that we’re not going to let the option [in De Gea’s contract] disappear,” said Mourinho. “A goalkeeper like he is, and obviously a club that wants to be better and better and better, we are not going to let that year option go away.
“But obviously we are going to try to give him a contract that keeps him here for much longer than that option that, of course, we are going to execute.
“I don’t discuss numbers and contracts. I just say what is obvious. Anyone of you would say the same – David is to keep.”
De Gea is represented by Jorge Mendes, who is also Mourinho’s agent, and Mendes was in Manchester on Wednesday as he went through the final details of the United manager’s new contract with executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward. It is also possible there could be further talks over De Gea.
Mourinho’s new deal is expected to tie him to Old Trafford until June 2021, with the option of another 12 months, and there remains an outside chance of United making an announcement this week.