STUPID CRITICS CAN GO TO EL
De Gea shrugs off attacks over World Cup blunders for Spain
DAVID DE GEA insists he did not listen to the “stupid” criticism of his World Cup howler for Spain.
The Manchester United goalkeeper let a shot from Cristiano Ronaldo slip through his arms in the opening group game against Portugal and came under fire for failing to save a penalty in the last-16 shoot-out defeat to Russia.
And as United arrived in Switzerland for their Champions League clash with Young Boys, he said: “Normally I never listen to the people who speak about me. I never listen to the stupid things they say.”
The 27-year-old, back to his best with a brilliant late save to secure a vital win at Watford on Saturday, claims to treat praise and criticism with indifference.
“Normally I focus on my job, on trying to help my team and trying to improve every training session to be as a good as I can,” he added.
De Gea – coveted by Real Madrid until they signed Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois – was non-committal when asked if he would pledge his long-term future to United, who have opened talks over a new contract.
His current deal has a year to run but the Reds have an option to extend that by another season and De Gea – club player of the year for four of the past five seasons – insists he remains happy at Old Trafford.
“I feel really loved by the fans and all the people who work for this club,” he added. “I’m really happy to play for this club, one of best clubs in world, so for me it’s really good to be part of this club.”
United have made little impact in the Champions League since De Gea joined in 2011. Their best effort was to reach the last-eight under David Moyes in 2013-14.
But he says they and Jose Mourinho are determined to make amends in what has been described as the most open competition in recent years. “Yes, of course, we want to improve in the Champions League,” he said.
“It’s such a special competition. It’s a long time for Manchester United not to win this cup, so we are ready to do it.
“We’re in a difficult group, starting on Wednesday with a difficult team. We want to start well, win games and try to win the competition but we know it’s always difficult.”
De Gea believes United will be at a disadvantage in Bern because of the pitch at the Stade de Suisse.
“We’re not used to playing on artificial grass so it’s going to be a bit different and probably more difficult for us,” he said. “But we have to train to see how the balls work on this pitch and try to play our football here.”