UK Edition
Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea happy at Old Trafford and not interested in Real Madrid move, insists Jose Mourinho
Jose Mourinho is confident David De Gea does not want to leave Manchester United and that Real Madrid have not even expressed any interest in his goalkeeper.
Real tried to buy De Gea two years ago, but the deal collapsed at the end of the summer transfer window and the 26-year-old has since signed a new contract at United.
Crucially, it is not thought to include a release clause and that enabled his manager to brush off a fresh round of speculation surrounding the former Atlético Madrid player.
Real are keen on a number of goalkeepers playing in the Premier League and while De Gea is on that shortlist, so is Tottenham Hotspur’s Hugo Lloris and Thibaut Courtois at Chelsea.
United’s chief executive, Ed Woodward, has also made it clear that it will be very difficult to pressurise United to sell anyone they want to keep, particularly given how healthy their finances look after the most recently released figures showed another leap in profits.
“I have nothing to say on De Gea because I am not going to speak about hypothetical things,” said Mourinho. “The only thing that is real is that he is my player, I am happy with him, I know that he is happy with me
“With [Real Madrid owner] Mr [Florentino] Pérez and his right arm José Ángel Sánchez, they are some of the people in football that I can say I did not work for them and then it is over. I can say that we are friends forever, big friends. Friends speak, friends are open friends are honest. So, if at the end of the season I want one of their players or they want one of our players, we will not do it through the press. We will be very direct. So they are one of the clubs that I am not worried about at all.”
United will enter into the transfer market in the summer with leading target Antoine Griezmann edging close to a move from Atlético, but they are hoping to tweak the squad rather than overhaul it.
“I know the players I want,” said Mourinho. “Of course, at the start it is about the quality of the players we want, but sooner or later it has to end in the players we want. I try always to be objective and not to participate in trying to bring in players that are impossible. I am not going to tell Mr Woodward and Mr Glazers ‘bring me Lionel Messi’.
“I know exactly what I want. I know what I want is possible. But we are in February we have so many matches to play, so many trophies to fight for. I am not worried about it, I am just worried about Watford and then at 5pm after that game I start being worried about Saint-Etienne [in the Europa League].
Meanwhile, Mourinho has indicated that Zlatan Ibrahimovic will also be staying at Old Trafford for next season, even though he could earn a more lucrative move to China or the United States.
“I’m totally convinced he is going to stay,” added Mourinho. “He came with the intention to stay two years, but in the minds of everyone the first year is going better than every expectation. He’s adapted to the club, to the situation, I don’t see any problem with his family.”