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David de Gea has been the subject of intense transfer speculation for more than half his Manchester United career with Real Madrid consistently being his most vocal suitors.
He's also become one of the outstanding goalkeepers in world football and United's player of the year for the past three seasons running.
But with just one league title, one FA Cup and a few Community Shields to his name in six years at Old Trafford, it is perhaps understandable that De Gea could have his head turned by his hometown club who also happen to be one of Europe's perennial achievers.
While not going as far as to say he wants a move away, De Gea admitted this week that "nobody knows" where his future lies and added that his side's lack of a title challenge yet again this season has been a source of frustration.
"The future nobody knows. The future is the future. I'm very happy here, it's a great club. In England, football is enjoyed a lot," he told Spanish newspaper AS .
"I’m not going to talk about that," he added when pressed on Madrid's interest. "I‘m not going to talk about that subject now. I just have to keep focused on my club.”
Since De Gea has been at United, Madrid have won two Champions League titles, one league title, one Copa del Rey, one Spanish Super Cup, two European Super Cups and two Club World Cups.
While Madrid are leading La Liga again this season and still going strong in the Champions League, De Gea admitted that it is going to be "very difficult" for United to win the league this year.
“The truth is that [Chelsea] are doing really well," the goalkeeper said. "I think they’re nine points ahead of second place and they have the title in their hands. We are all going to fight to get as close as possible but they are very well placed.”
He added that United's lack of a title challenge is not good enough for a club of their stature.
“Obviously, when you do not get to fight for the Premier League…I don’t know if you can say it’s a disappointment," he added. "But in a club as big as this you always have to fight for it.”
Show all 27 1 /27Most expensive players by age Most expensive players by age 14 years old: Sheyi Ojo, MK Dons – Liverpool, 2011. £2.13m. Liverpool beat off competition from practically every European superclub to land the signing of 14-year old wonderkid Ojo, from MK Dons’ academy. Encouraging loan spells at Wigan and Wolves followed, with the winger graduating to Liverpool’s first-team squad last season.
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Most expensive players by age 15 years old: Fran Merida, Barcelona – Arsenal, 2005. £2.72m. Frightened by the number of prodigiously talented young players being signed by Barcelona, Merida’s parents encouraged a move to Arsenal. But Merida struggled to acclimatise himself in England, making just six league appearances before returning home. Recently signed from second-tier Huesca by La Liga outfit Osasuna.
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Most expensive players by age 16 years old: Theo Walcott, Southampton – Arsenal, 2006. £8.93m. A precocious talent: Nike agreed to sponsor Walcott when he was just 14-years old. Arsenal splashed the cash after an impressive debut season with Southampton in the Championship, and they have been rewarded with twelve seasons worth of hard-work and underwhelming finishing.
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Most expensive players by age 17 years old: Alexandre Pato, Internacional – AC Milan, 2007. £8.93m. Pato began life at the San Siro encouragingly, scoring 18 goals in his debut season and winning both the Golden Boy and Serie A Young Footballer of the Year awards. But from then on his form fluctuated, and he acquired an unwanted playboy reputation after well-publicized trysts with Barbara Berlusconi, a director at the club and daughter of former Italian president Silvio. Now starring for Tianjin Quanjian.
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Most expensive players by age 18 years old: Luke Shaw, Southampton – Man Utd, 2014. £31.88m. Shaw became the most expensive teenager in football when he left Southampton for Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United. His time at Old Trafford didn’t get off to a great start: the Dutchman promptly accused him of not being fit enough. Injury has dogged his time at the club, and recent reports suggest he could soon be moved on.
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Most expensive players by age 19 years old: Anthony Martial, Monaco – Man Utd, 2015. £42.5m. Another one of Louis van Gaal’s excessively expensive teenage signings. Has generally fared better than Shaw, and made a blistering start to his United career when he scored on his debut before winning the Premier League Player of the Month award in his first month in English football. But has struggled for game time under Jose Mourinho.
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Most expensive players by age 20 years old: Raheem Sterling, Liverpool – Man City, 2015. £53.13m. Deserted Liverpool for Manchester at the end of one of the most protracted transfer sagas of recent time, after a length and tortuous dispute over a new contract. Has enjoyed an encouraging start to his City career and has been a regular under Pep Guardiola.
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Most expensive players by age 21 years old: Neymar, Santos – Barcelona. 2013. £74.97m. The exact sum of Neymar’s transfer from Santos to Barcelona is one of the most controversial subjects in football, but the following is without doubt: Neymar was the most expensive 21-year old player in the history of the game. An undoubted success at Barca, forming a formidable attacking triumvirate alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
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Most expensive players by age 22 years old: John Stones, Everton – Man City, 2016. £47.26m. Eyebrows were raised when Manchester City made John Stones the second most expensive defender of all-time (behind David Luiz). It was hoped that Pep Guardiola would be able to get the best out of a talented but frustratingly erratic young talent, but the costly mistakes have unfortunately yet to be eradicated.
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Most expensive players by age 23 years old: Paul Pogba, Juventus – Man Utd, 2016. £89.25m. Manchester United infamously allowed Paul Pogba to leave for Juventus for a pittance, and then had to spend a world-record fee to get him back. It wasn’t the shrewdest of business decisions, but it made sense where the football was concerned: Pogba has scored four goals since returning and has been instrumental in United’s recent improvement.
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Most expensive players by age 24 years old: Gareth Bale, Tottenham – Real Madrid, 2013. £85.85m. Surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo as the most expensive player in the world when he joined Real Madrid in 2013. He may not quite have reached the same formidable heights as CR7, but he has played an invaluable role in two Champions League winning campaigns.
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Most expensive players by age 25 years old: Oscar, Chelsea – Shanghai SIPG, 2017. £51m. Joined Chelsea in 2012 as the next Kaka. Left this year as the next Paulinho. Showed flashes of his talent at Stamford Bridge – and started 28 games during Chelsea’s title-winning 2014/15 campaign – but ultimately failed to impress Antonio Conte. Worth far less than the £51m he was sold for.
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Most expensive players by age 26 years old: Angel di Maria, Real Madrid – Man Utd, 2014. £63.75m. Further irrefutable evidence that Louis van Gaal doesn’t know how to spend large sums of money. Di Maria joined from Real Madrid for a club record fee, but a promising start to Old Trafford quickly faded, and United were more than fortunate to recoup £44m from the equally profligate PSG.
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Most expensive players by age 27 years old: Luis Suarez, Liverpool – Barcelona, 2014. £69.46m. The Uruguayan came so very close to single-handedly winning Liverpool the Premier League title in 2014, before quitting and joining Barcelona. Things didn’t get off to the best of starts when he was suspended for the start of the season after biting Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup, but 40 goals in just 35 La Liga matches in his second season meant his occasional bouts of ill-discipline was quickly forgotten.
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Most expensive players by age 28 years old: Gonzalo Higuain, Napoli – Juventus, 2016. £76.5m. In the 2015/16 season the irrepressible Higuain scored an incredible 36 goals to claim the Capocannoniere and equal Gino Rossetti's 87-year-old record for goals in an Italian top-flight season. His reward was a £76.5m move to Juventus, where he has unsurprisingly proved an instant success.
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Most expensive players by age 29 years old: Zinedine Zidane, Juventus – Real Madrid, 2001. £62.48m. One of the best players of all-time, and for eight years, the most expensive player in the history of the game. Joined Real in the twilight of his career but still managed to fit in five highly successful seasons. Now manages the club he retired at.
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Most expensive players by age 30 years old: Samuel Eto’o, Inter – Anzhi Makhachkala, 2011. £22.95m. FC Anzhi Makhachkala perhaps wasn’t the natural next stop on a glittering football C.V. that included Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan, but there was little chance Inter were going to turn down such a large fee for a 30-year old. Spells at Chelsea and Everton followed. Now interim player-manager at Turkish outfit Antalyaspor.
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Most expensive players by age 31 years old: Gabriel Batistuta, Fiorentina – Roma, 2000. £27.63m. Batistuta hit the ground running when he first signed for Roma, managing 20 goals in 28 Serie A games, only six less than golden boot winner Hernan Crespo. But his advancing years soon caught up with him: The Argentine scored only 10 more league goals for the club over the next two league seasons.
Most expensive players by age 32 years old: Shay Given, Newcastle – Man City, 2009. £7.65m. Given was regarded as one of the finest goalkeepers in the Premier League when he quit struggling Newcastle for nouveau riche Manchester City in 2008. Immediately displaced a junior Joe Hart – who was banished on loan to Birmingham – before the rookie was to replace him in the 2010/11 season. Given moved on to Aston Villa, for £3.5m.
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Most expensive players by age 33 years old: Claudio Bravo, Barcelona – Man City, 2016. £15.3m. The less said about this one the better. Another case of Manchester City signing a goalkeeping in his twilight years, booting Joe Hart out on loan, and then wishing they could take him back. Bravo arrived for big money but his signing has proved an unmitigated disaster. Recently he has been benched in favour of Willy Caballero.
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Most expensive players by age 34 years old: Lilian Thuram, Juventus – Barcelona, 2006. £4.25m. The most capped player in the history of the France national team, who enjoyed long and successful spells at Monaco, Parma and Juventus. Barca took advantage of the infamous Calciopoli scandal to sign Thuram for a discount price when Juventus dropped into Serie B, but the defender was forced into an early retirement after only two seasons at the club, after he was diagnosed with a heart defect.
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Most expensive players by age 35 years old: Ze Roberto, Bayern Munich – Hamburg, 2009. £3.4m. Many thought Ze Roberto would see out his career at Hamburg, after the German club paid Bayern £3.4m for the then 35-year old. How wrong they were. He spent two successful seasons at the club only to depart for Qatari club Al-Gharafa, following that up with stints at Grêmio and Palmeiras. He’s still playing. He’s 43 this July. He signed a contract extension in December.
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Most expensive players by age 36 years old: David James, Man City – Portsmouth, 2006. £1.45m. When 36-year old David James hurriedly left Manchester City for personal reasons in 2006, little did he know how successful his next move was to prove. James kept clean sheets in his first five appearances for Portsmouth, setting the tone for a fine four seasons on the south coast, which included an FA Cup win and an appearance in the Uefa Cup group stage.
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Most expensive players by age 37 years old: Brad Friedel, Blackburn Rovers – Aston Villa, 2008. £2.13m. Friedel left Blackburn just two appearances short of Terry Gennoe's club record of 289 for a goalkeeper. Villa beat off interest from Manchester City for his signature, and the American was ever present for the next three seasons. He would move once again before his retirement, to Tottenham Hotspur. Now the head coach of USA Under-19s.
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Most expensive players by age 38 years old: Marko Simeunovic, AEL Limassol – Interblock, 2006. £765k. The Slovenian goalkeeper enjoyed a storied career across eastern Europe and represented Slovenia at Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup before he became the most expensive 38-year-old player of all time upon signing for the appealingly named Interblock.
Most expensive players by age 39 years old: Craig Brewster, Inverness – Dundee Utd, 2006. £340k. This is possibly the only instance of humble Dundee United featuring on a list of the most expensive transfers in football. Craig Brewster returned to the club as player-manager in January 2006, although the move wasn’t a successful one. The Tangerines went unbeaten for their first three matches, but then went on to win only one match for the remainder of the season. Brewster would cling on until October.
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Most expensive players by age 40 years old: Bogdan Stelea, Unirea Urziceni – Brasov, 2008. £85k. Brasov forked out £85k for 40-year old Romanian goalkeeper Bogdan Stelea, but the former Salamanca number one was to make only 23 appearances before calling it a day. He immediately embarked on a managerial career, spending time at Astra Ploiești and Viitorul Constanța.
If he believes United are incapable of pushing for honours again next season, 26 seems a prime age to move away.
With Madrid's transfer embargo lifting in the summer, a move for Spain's number one looks likely. Unless of course there's another administrative error on deadline day ...
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