Second best is simply not good enough for club like ours: De Gea

DAVID de Gea says Manchester United must not be satisfied with finishing as Premier League runners-up this season, claiming second place is “not enough”.

United enjoyed their best league season since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, but still ended 19 points behind champions Manchester City.

De Gea (below), named United’s Player of the Year for the fourth time, has now urged his team-mates to help end their five-year wait for the league title.

“I believe that, for a club like United, even second place is simply not enough,” he said. “We have to be fighting hard to win something and we have that opportunity. You get nothing for coming second or getting close to the league leaders.

“In the end, you always have to be fighting to win something, as that’s what this club and the fans really deserve and so it’s just that — second place is not enough.”

United’s season could yet end with silverware, as Chelsea await Jose Mourinho’s side in Saturday’s FA Cup final at Wembley.

For De Gea, it is a chance to win the world’s oldest football competition for a second time having lifted the trophy in 2016 under Louis van Gaal.

“It’s what this club has an obligation to do — get to cup finals, win them and continue to make this club even bigger,” the 27-year-old added. “That’s the most important thing, battling to keep making United what it is — a massive, massive club.”