Man Utd treble winner blasts ‘tasteless’ Ten Hag transfer decision involving ‘absolutely unbelievable’ player
Manchester United treble winner, Andrew Cole, has blasted his former club for the ‘tasteless’ manner in which they ousted club icon David de Gea.
De Gea, 32, remains a free agent after leaving Man Utd upon expiry of his contract on June 30. The Spanish veteran lasted just one season under Erik ten Hag, with his limitations with the ball at feet ultimately proving his downfall.
United splashed out an initial £43.8m when signing Andre Onana as De Gea’s replacement. However, the former Ajax man has seen a series of high profile handling errors mar his short stint at Old Trafford thus far.
Some within United’s fanbase have questioned whether De Gea should’ve been retained. In fact, United were on the cusp of handing De Gea a new contract back in May before pulling the rug from under the Spaniard at the eleventh hour.
Indeed, the Athletic previously revealed De Gea had agreed to extend his stay with the Red Devils prior to last season concluding.
However, United refused to honour their own contract, instead ripping up their deal and putting a new contract to De Gea that included greatly reduced terms. Understandably, De Gea decided enough was enough and elected to leave.
The Sun later claimed the way in which De Gea was treated angered certain sections of the United dressing room. De Gea was a ‘hugely popular’ player and as a four-time Man Utd Players’ Player of the Year, is a modern-day club great.
Now, in quotes carried by the Manchester Evening News, former striker Andrew Cole has taken aim at United.
Cole formed one half of the deadly Cole-Yorke partnership that helped fire United to their historic treble in 1999. Per Cole, United did not cover themselves in glory when severing ties with De Gea.
De Gea “deserved” better from Man Utd – Cole
“Regarding David de Gea, every player makes mistakes and he was absolutely unbelievable for Manchester United,” said Cole.
“The way that the club let him go in the summer was rather tasteless and I believe that he should have been shown a lot more respect than he was, but that’s football now.
“You don’t get many pats on the back and when you move on, everybody seems to talk about your mistakes rather than all the great things you did for the club.”
While Onana’s early struggles have some harking back to De Gea’s glory days, it is important to note the Spaniard was well below par in his final season in Manchester.
Indeed, De Gea made four errors directly leading to a goal for United across all competitions last season. From the perspective of Premier League-based keepers, that figure tied him top of the charts with Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris.
Like United, Spurs also acted over the summer, signing a new No 1 in Guglielmo Vicario.
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