United paid too much to keep hold of De Gea says Mourinho...
FORMER United manager Jose Mourinho believes the club didn’t need to fork out what they have to keep David de Gea.
The Spaniard signed a new four-year deal with ther Reds that will keep him at Old Trafford until June 2023, putting an end to speculation linking him with a move away.
But his former manager Mourinho believes De Gea was ‘lucky’ to get such a lucrative deal and that the club didn’t need to pay him as much as they have.
He said: “I think the moment where he signs his huge contract is the moment where I don’t think United need to pay as much as that to have him.
“One or two years ago he had the world after him and in this moment, when he signed his incredible contract, I think the majority of the big doors were closed.
“Real Madrid’s door is closed, they don’t sign a goalkeeper after Courtois, Barcelona is closed with the young and fantastic Ter Stegen, Paris Saint-Germain is closed because they signed Keylor Navas, who is a very good goalkeeper and 34-years-old for a goalkeeper is not a problem at all.
“I don’t see United under pressure because David is going to disappear. Who is going to pay these numbers? So I think he gets a phenomenal contract in a moment where he is a bit lucky to get it.
“Is he good? Yes, he’s very good, in the same way I was saying that Lindelof is good in some aspects and not as good in other aspects of the game, I could say the same about David.
“He is much better on the line than he is coming out but I think in goal his agility, his technical level, is second to none.”